Reunion
by Star Tours Traveler
Summary: People from the past show up in Radiant Garden. Who will appear? And what will this mean for the Restoration Committee? Crossover with Final Fantasy: VII, VIII, X, & X2. While I have a few members of Org. XIII over to watch.
1. Enter Radiant Garden

**Reunion**

* * *

Summary: People from the past show up in Radiant Garden. Who will appear? And what will this mean for the Restoration Committee? Crossover with Final Fantasy VIII, X, & X-2. 

Disclaimer: I do not own, Kingdom Hearts, or Final Fantasy.

A/N: I noticed a few things in looking at pictures of random FF characters and other members of Organization XIII, and I think that at least some of the FF Characters have Nobodies as members of Organization XIII…you will see what I mean eventually.

* * *

**Enter Radiant Garden**

Radiant Garden, once one of the most prosperous worlds in the entire universe, now reduced to near rubble in the aftermath of both Xehanort & Organization XIII. But the people were still alive…alive and re-building.

It had been a month since Sora, Donald, and Goofy, had last been there and helped them to defeat over 1000 Heartless. Cloud and Tifa had left and probably returned to their own world, the three little fairies, Yuna, Rikku, and Paine, had decided to stick around and help in the rebuilding in whatever way possible. King Mickey had returned once to provide the Committee with some resources to help in their efforts.

As for a certain little blue alien known as Stitch, he had been dropped off personally by King Mickey, to help out…mostly because Mickey didn't know which world Stitch belonged to and figured that helping the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee was probably the best thing for him to do until he found his home world.

But all was peaceful, sure a few heartless would appear now and then, but they were always the small easy-to-kill heartless, on occasion a big one would show up but it would be soundly defeated by one of the committee members.

Ansem's now abandoned castle, had been transformed into the RGRC's (Radiant Garden Restoration Committee) new headquarters, for 2 reasons, 1 because they had a much better computer, complete with it's own…user friendly operating system, and because Merlin wanted his house back...everyone knew better than to argue with a wizard.

Leon sat in the chair behind the desk in Ansem's study, reading some of Ansem's experiment notes, not all of Ansem's notes were on hearts surprisingly. Yuffie was probably trying to cause some form of mischief with the three fairies, Aerith was sitting nearby, reading a book that Merlin gave her. Cid could be heard pounding away at the keys on the computer nearby, and occasionally be heard talking to Tron. Stitch, who had sort of become Yuffie's lap dog (much to the dismay of most of the RGRC), was probably running around with Yuffie somewhere.

Leon finished reading one of the notes and placed a ribbon, attached to the book, in the page as a bookmark. He pinched his nose from having stared at the relatively small print, and from having to try and figure out Ansem's hand writing, it was before he started writing in print.

"Hmm" Leon said putting the notebook down, catching Aerith's attention.

"Ansem's research that interesting?" Aerith asked curiously.

"Sort of, he was pretty much the ruler of Radiant Garden, or at least one of the most helpful citizens they've ever had." Leon replied while reaching into his jacket and pulling out a small piece of paper.

"How so?"

"Well…for example he designed the whole town's irrigation system, the original defense system that Xehanort 'conveniently' destroyed, and that device that allows us to enter Tron's world…well he was one of a few people who worked on it." Leon explained

"Hmm…I wonder, when Ansem's apprentices became heartless, and produced their nobodies, what ever happened to them?" Aerith asked curiously

"I wish I knew…then again I don't think I do." Leon shuddered as he turned his attention to the piece of paper in his hand.

He looked at it with the one facial expression that no one ever saw on Leon's face, no one could tell what that look was.

It was a letter, a letter from the person to whom Leon's heart belonged, his girlfriend.

"Dear Squall…" He read quietly

* * *

End Chapter 1; tell me what you think so far, Flames will be used on you by Axel. 

Axel: BURN BABY!!!

Me: Cool it man…uhh no pun intended.

Axel: It's cool dude.

Me: Still, please review people.


	2. The Letter

Me: Well folks here's chapter 2, oh and just so you know, I have a few members of Organization XIII here with me…all the cool ones at least…Well in my opinion…they are number 8, Axel.

Axel: Got it memorized?

Me: number 9, Demyx

Demyx+waves with one hand and holds his sitar with the other+

Me: number 12… and my personal favorite, Larxene

Larxene: I'm your favorite?

Axel: Yeah he's got a picture of you in a heart shaped frame in his room.

Larxene+gets bug eyed+

Me+Gives Axel a death glare+ (Mumbles) and number 13, Roxas

Roxas+Gives the "hang loose" hand signal+

Me: any who…Lets get to the story shall we?

Larxene: You really have a photo of me in a heart shaped frame?

Axel: He sure does.

Me: and how would you know Axel?

Roxas: Yeah how would you?

Axel: Uhh…GET TO THE STORY!!!

* * *

**The Letter**

"_Dear Squall…"_

The letter started,

"…_It seems like an eternity since I've seen you; I only hope this letter reaches you from where I am. My thoughts have drifted back to you, and I can't help but wonder if you are back in Hollow Bastion, and if you are still the same tall dark stranger that came to my aid all those years ago. If I could find a way to return home, I would, and if I find a way, I would be running in to your arms in an instant."_

"_I have often thought of everyone from home lately, you, Merlin, Cid, Aerith, Yuffie. How have they been? Has Cid ever built that super powerful gummy ship he's dreamed of? Has Yuffie ever mastered that strange throwing star…thing? Has Merlin ever taken on an apprentice? So many questions, and yet no way to hear the answers."_

By now a tear streamed down Leon's cheek.

"_I leave you with this last reminder of me, so that whenever you read this letter, you will think of all the times we spent together at home in Hollow Bastion."_

As he finished reading the sentence, the paper began to glow pink, and a heart with pink wings floated up from the page, he watched the heart float up and dissipate, and then returned to the letter.

"_Forever yours…Rinoa"_

Leon folded the letter back up and put it back into his jacket, he dried the tears from his eyes and walked out of the study, with Aerith watching intently.

As Leon closed the door, Aerith quickly jumped up, put her book down, and ran towards where Cid was.

"Ok Tron, try this, put those two Lock-on deco-gummies on both sides, and the propellers on the top in a horizontal form." Cid instructed as Tron created a 3D image of a…rather familiar gummy ship titled the Highwind α Model.

"By my calculations this formation should work, but there is still the issue of the cost for this vessel."

Tron replied

"Cost, Shmost, this thing is gonna be the baddest gummy ship in existence." Cid said proudly

"I see, if you wanted ill designed I would suggest the removal of…" Tron attempted to explain but Cid cut him off.

"No, no, no Tron, it's called a slang term ya gall dern program. Yer not supposed to take it literally" Cid quipped

"Ahh, I understand now, You Users should really learn to say what you mean." Tron replied

Cid mumbled something unflattering as Aerith burst in.

"Cid…" Aerith said as she swung around the corner

"YEAHHH!!!" Cid screamed as he whirled around to see the brunette flinching.

"Sorry to scare you Cid but, I need to talk to you real quick." Aerith apologized

"It's all right Aerith but please don't try to scare the livin day lights outta me." Cid replied catching his breath.

"I'm getting worried about Leon, He seems depressed, or something." Aerith explained

"Leon is as hard to read as Cloud, who knows what that boy is thinking." Cid replied turning back to the computer.

"But…" Aerith said "…I saw him cry."

Cid froze, _"Leon…crying…that's impossible"_ he thought

"Are you sure you saw him crying, it could have been sweat, the air conditioner is on the fritz in here." Cid asked without looking.

"I'm positive those were tears running down his cheeks."

Cid turned back around. "There must be some explanation for this, but what."

* * *

Meanwhile

Leon walked down the hallway towards a, newly discovered balcony, that provided an excellent view of the town.

He had to stare a couple of heartless down, but he made it to the balcony safely.

"_So many things have changed; I just wish Rinoa could see it."_

Leon sighed as he turned to leave, but then he stopped.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a bright light had appeared.

He turned and saw the light dissipating from marketplace in town, he recognized that light, it was the same light that would appear whenever Sora and his friends arrived by Gummy ship.

"_Well there's one bit of good news, at least we know Sora's all right." _He thought as he took off towards the town.

* * *

In the marketplace, the bright light had dissipated, and where the light had been, stood seven figures.

The first was a man with long black hair, dressed in a red and black outfit with a pair of equally red eyes, and his left arm from the elbow down was a sort of gold armored talon, on his right side was a holster, and in that holster appeared to be a gun, but no one could be certain.

The second was a blond haired man, dressed in a white business suit, with what appeared to be a custom built gun in his hand.

He was followed by three men and one woman in black business suits, the leader had hair similar to Xaldin's but without the dreadlocks, one was bald and had sunglasses on, and the last one had flaming red hair, with two equally red tattoos above his cheeks, his suit however was unbuttoned and open, he also held what looked like a short metal rod in his hand. The woman had relatively short blond hair and brown eyes.

The final figure was a woman with black hair with brown streaks, a black shirt with a cyan blue jacket, and black shorts.

"I…I don't believe it…we're here…we're finally…home…" The black haired woman said as the rest nodded.

* * *

End Chapter 2

Demyx+sniff+ that is…+sniff+ so beautiful.

Larxene: Oh get a grip you pansy.

Axel: Why does that guy with red hair sound vaguely familiar?

Roxas: Beats me…Hey does Sora appear in this story…or Namine?

Me: I don't know yet…it depends on what the readers think

Demyx starts to cry

Larxene: Would someone shut this guy up…before he finds out why water and electricity don't mix.

Me: Put the Kunai away Larx.

(Gives Demyx a cookie, Demyx stops crying and eats the cookie…he's happy now)

Axel: Do I still get to burn the Flame review writers?

Me: Your still here aren't you?

Axel+Smiles devilishly+

Larxene: and any flame reviewers he does miss…I'll deal with.

(Everyone backs away from Larxene who is smiling evilly)

Me: Uhh…please review people.

Roxas: And flame at your own risk.

Axel: Got it memorized?


	3. The Prodigal Children Return

Me: We have Chapter 3, and an additional guest, while she isn't part of the Organization, she is still a nobody, (And Roxas's girlfriend), presenting…Namine

Namine: Hi

Axel: That should put an end to all those sick Yaoi rumors of me and Roxas.

Me: I wish that were so, but alas people will continue to write yaoi…I give you my word that I will never write a single yaoi or slash story…ever.

Roxas: Thank you.

Larxene: You won't write any of me and Axel, will you?

Me: I will never pair you with anyone in the Organization…Riku perhaps…but no Org. XIII members.

Larxene: Thank you...but does it have to be Riku?

Me: That was just me thinking out loud.

Namine: Anyway those stories are sick.

Demyx: Here here.

Me: As much as I agree with you all…let us return to the story at hand.

* * *

**The Prodigal children return**

Outside Merlin's house Yuffie Kisaragi stopped to catch her breath from having laughed hard at having rigged Merlin's house full of booby traps...and watching said wizard trigger each and every one.

"Boy did we get him good." Yuffie said between short fits of giggles, Stitch was cackling madly on the ground beside her, and the small fairy Rikku floated above him, also giggling.

"We sure did." Rikku said giving Yuffie a high five.

"Yeah lets just hope gramps doesn't find...OOF" Yuffie landed on her butt as she walked in to a very...pink...wizard who had his arms crossed and was tapping his foot looking down at the young ninja.

"Old you say, well I can fix that!" At that Merlin raised his wand over Yuffie's head and recited the magic words...

"Higitus Figitus Migitus mum, pres-ti-dig-i-ton-i-um!" Yuffie opened her eyes, and looked around she didn't notice anything at first, but then she noticed that Rikku was her size, more like she was the same size as Rikku.

"WHAT THE!!!" Yuffie cried when she realized what happened.

"Change me back!!!" She whined

"Not until I have heard an apology young lady." Merlin said shaking his finger at the now Chibi Fairy Yuffie.

Yuffie sighed and..."I'm sorry Merlin...I won't do it again..." She droned.

"Fine now hold very still my lass we don't want to miss now do we?" Merlin said clearing his throat

"Higitus Figitus Migitus mum, pres-ti-dig-i-ton-i-um!"

Yuffie looked around and saw things were back to normal...except one thing...suddenly...

"RIKKU!!! Your...HUMAN!!!" Yuffie yelled.

Rikku looked at Yuffie, then at Stitch, then at Merlin...then.

"Good gracious me, I must have reversed the spell that witch, Mim, put you under years ago!" Merlin said surprised.

"You're right I'm HUMAN AGAIN!!! WEEEEEEEEE!!!" Rikku yelled running around with her hands in the air...she would have gone on for a while had Leon not nearly knocked her over as he ran towards the marketplace.

"Hey watch it!!!" she yelled but Leon didn't hear her, he was focused on getting to the marketplace.

* * *

"TURKS!!!" The man in white said to his three man, one woman entourage, as they immediately snapped to attention.

"Remember, we don't know in what condition Hollow Bastion is, Heartless wise so be on your guard."

"YES SIR!" The 4 answered in unison, the red man just and smirked as he looked out towards the marketplace.

"Rufus do you have to bark at them like that?" the red man asked in a deep voice.

"You have to ask, Valentine? You were one of them once too you know." Rufus responded

"Just because I was a Turk doesn't mean I liked it." Valentine responded coldly

"You didn't complain when you looked after Dr. Crescent." Rufus muttered, only to receive a death glare from Vincent.

"Stop fighting you two!!!" The dark haired woman said as she jumped in between Rufus and Valentine.

"Now is not the time to fight, it looks like the city is in relatively good condition, but still, we should be careful and fight as a team...as we have been for a year or so..." The woman said as she put her hands on her hips.

"Sir!" The blond Turk said as she motioned to the stairway towards near the marketplace.

"Isn't that..." She said only to be interrupted by Rufus.

"It's Squall!!!" Rufus said shocked "I would recognize that gunblade anywhere!"

The dark haired woman shoved the two out of her way.

"It...It is him..." The woman began to tear up as she jumped over the edge of the rail, slid down the roof of one of the shops, and landed upright on the sidewalk.

"SQUALL!!!" She yelled

Leon looked around trying to find where the voice had come from, and saw the dark haired woman. He was stunned, he couldn't belive what he was seeing, _"It can't be...I-I must be dreaming" _He rubbed his eyes and looked again, but sure enough she was real.

"Rinoa?" He asked silently.

The woman began to run around towards him, tears streaming down her face.

"RINOA!!!" He yelled and ran towards her and they collided into a deep kiss.

From up on the wall the red haired Turk snickered. "Avert your eyes children."

"Shut up Reno." The Xaldin wannabe Turk replied without looking.

Valentine just smiled and made a silent grunt and headed towards the marketplace.

"Turks, lets go." Rufus said as he started to follow Vincent, and was followed almost immediately by three of the Turks. Reno had to be grabbed by the arm of by the bald Turk and dragged away from the scene.

After a while the two separated, "I've missed you so much." Leon said as they separated. "I missed you too." She replied.

"Where were you?"

"We wound up in another world, a world called...Hawaii."

"We?" Leon asked curiously

"We as in us, Squall old buddy." A voice interrupted.

"Reno, Rufus, Elena, Rude, Tseng...Vincent Valentine?!?!" Leon said surprised as he saw his old friends.

"RENO!!!" Tseng (the Xaldin wannabe) barked.

"So...Rufus Ansem...we meet again." Leon said with a smile

"Actually I go by the name, 'Rufus Shinra' now. You see I felt guilty that I couldn't save Hollow Bastion, that and that cursed Heartless, Xehanort went around abusing my father's good name so I decided that it would be best to change it." Rufus explained

"Strange, I did something similar."

"Oh yeah?"

Leon smirked, "I go by Leon Squallblade now."

"Really?"

"Yep." Leon replied

Rinoa looked at him with a strange look.

"But I'm still the same, Squall Lionheart at...heart" Leon rolled his eyes as he said heart.

"Well that's good to hear Squa...uh Leon...so...is my dad around." Rufus asked intently.

Leon paused before answering, "Uhh...perhaps we should get you to the castle, the whole gang will be glad to see you all still alive."

Rufus looked at Leon for a moment...wondering what he was hiding, but agreed none the less. And at that Leon lead the group down the stairs towards the Castle.

End Chapter 3

* * *

Larxene: Now why does that Elena girl sound familiar to me?

Axel: I don't know, maybe we should ask Mr. "Star Tours Traveler"...What kind of a screenname is that anyway?

Me: All the good ones were taken.

Axel, Larxene, and Demyx: Ohhhhhhhhhhhh

Demyx: Hey check it out!!!

Axel: Well looky here...Sleeping beauty and the beast.

(Motions to Roxas and Namine who are asleep on the couch holding hands)

(I crank up the one song guaranteed to wake Roxas up...his least favorite song...Zip-a-dee-doo-da, as sung by Jessie McCartney)

Roxas: TURN IT OFF!!! OWWW!!! NAMINE!!!

Namine: PERVERT!!!

Me: Just to explain...as Roxas woke up he put his hand right on Namine's chest and she instinctively, sucker punched him and now they're fighting.

Axel: Thus the "OWWW."

Larxene: Don't laugh Axel; you did the exact same thing with me once.

Axel: Oh don't you dare bring that up Larx... I told you that was Marluxia.

Larxene: No it was not!!! Besides he's got a crush on that Goth girl from Final Fantasy X, what's her name...Lulu? So you are still to blame for this.

Axel: It was Marl and that's final.

Larxene: Oh please...

Axel: Don't make me scorch you like I will any Flame reviewers.

Me (Interrupting the brewing catfight between Axel and Larxene, and Roxas and Namine): Why don't I try to break up this battle between the Savage Nymph and the Flurry of the Dancing Flames, while y'all review...ok? (Dodges a Kunai) Do something DEMYX!!!

Demyx: (Pulls out his Sitar) DANCE WATER DANCE!!! (Douses everyone with at least one water form...they all stop)

Me: Well that was easy.

Roxas, Namine, Larxene, and Axel: **MY HAIR!!!**

Me+whimpers+


	4. Meeting Old Friends part 1

Me: Ok...we have chapter 4, still no reviews and...Everyone's hair is back to normal...except mine... (In a sarcastic tone) thank you so much Namine (Flicks a Jack Sparrow style braid out of eyes)

Namine: (Smiles)

Demyx: Ha love the hair.

Me: Demyx if you so much as ask why the rum is gone I'm gonna get (Scribbles a name on a piece of paper)...and he will deal with you.

Demyx: (Whimpers and backs off)

Axel: I think the reason we have no reviews is because they're afraid of me burning them to a crisp.

Larxene: What he said.

Me: (Hears a Knock at the door) Ugh...not now.

Roxas: (Nervously) did uhh...anyone order pizza?

Me: Well...I got a nasty letter from...Xemnas (Cue the dun dun dun sfx...everyone is now Bug eyed)...and he said that if at least one of the original six members of Organization XIII didn't get to sit in on this, he would kill the story, so I invited...the least objectionable of the 6...Introducing... (Opens door)Xigbar.

Xigbar: What's up dudes...and dudettes, Xemnas wanted me to bring Zexion along...hope you don't mind.

Me: (Shrugs) Hey, as long as it wasn't... (Scowls) Xaldin.

Zexion: You're just mad that he beat you more times than Sephiroth did in Kingdom Hearts 2...and on beginner mode.

Xigbar: I thought that we agreed that you were gonna be a good boy and not insult the author.

Zexion: Would you quit calling me that!

Me: I'm going to start the story before Zexion ticks me off.

Larxene: Ooh you guys brought popcorn!!! (Everyone cheers)

Me: (Starts the story)

* * *

**Meeting old Friends Part-1**

As Leon led the group towards Merlin's house, they heard Merlin talking to Yuna & Paine, who were still "Chibi-fairy-ized."

"So let me get this straight, you can undo the spell that makes us these...ridiculous fairies." Paine asked.

"I believe that it is possible, now let me see here, ahem..." Merlin waved his wand over the fairies heads "Higitus Figitus Migitus mum, pres-ti-dig-i-ton-i-um." And in a puff of smoke Yuna & Paine both were back to human size.

"WOO HOO!!!" Yuna shouted, while Paine checked her shoulders to make sure that those wings were gone, sure enough, they were.

"I had never known you three were human once." Yuffie said from nearby

"We were but one day years ago we encountered this witch named Madam Mim who transformed us into fairies." Yuna explained

"We nearly got eaten by that mean old witch, had that old wizard dude...what's his name...Yin Sid, hadn't rescued us." Rikku continued

"But he didn't have enough time to reverse the spell on us, because he was busy trying to save his world from the heartless." Paine Finished.

"Wow..." Was all Yuffie could get out before they heard a knock at the door.

"What what whose there?" Merlin asked as he looked at the door.

Outside Leon smirked..."Leon and a party of favorites." (Xigbar: How OOC of him. Me: SHUSH!!!)

Merlin scratched his head as he opened the door, "Now what's this about favorites I...oh."

"MERLIN!!!" Everyone but Leon & Vincent shouted.

"GOOD GRACIOUS ME!!! It's so good to see you all alive, come in come, come." Merlin said as he ushered the group in.

Yuffie was bug eyed as each one entered, but switched to a smirk when Vincent entered.

"Vincent Valentine..." Yuffie waltzed up to the red clothed man who pretended to ignore her, "...did you miss me?" she said in a playful voice, but didn't receive a glance from the warrior.

In the meantime, Yuna & Rikku had turned their attention to Reno, Paine and Tseng just stood cross armed against opposite walls staring at each other, while Merlin turned to Rufus, Leon, and Rinoa.

"Rufus Ansem, I must say things are indeed looking up for Radiant Garden now that you're here."

"Radiant Garden!" Rinoa whispered to herself as she smacked her head for forgetting the name of her own world.

"Please call me Rufus Shinra. I'd prefer not being called by my father's name anymore." Rufus said with a sigh.

Merlin looked a bit surprised to hear this, "Oh...I see...well uhh...I guess you've heard then haven't you?"

Rufus looked at him confused "Heard what?"

Merlin lowered his head, "I'm afraid son, that your father is...dead."

Rufus's heart sank to the floor, as the Turks, along with Vincent and Rinoa looked at the wizard in shock.

Rufus collapsed to his knees. "My father...dead...when...HOW?!?!" Rufus asked.

"He gave his life, to try and stop the Heartless, the Nobodies, and Organization XIII from taking over the worlds...He went down the way he wanted...in battle." Leon explained as the entire room lowered they're heads in silence.

Rufus looked up at Leon, "How...How do you...know?" he asked hopefully

"We had a friend who told us what had transpired in the World that Never Was, he was there when he saw everything that happened." Leon answered

"Who is this...friend?" Rufus asked as Leon helped him back up.

"None other than the King of Disney Castle himself, King Mickey Mouse." Leon said with a smile

"**THE KING?!?!"** The Turks and Rinoa shouted in surprise

"Yes???" Leon asked curiously

"The king was the one who brought us back here." Rinoa spoke up

"He had his Captain of the Guard, and his Court Magician with him." Rufus continued

"He also had these three kids on board who mistook me for someone else." Reno spoke up, "Some guy named Axel...don't know why."

"Kids?" Leon asked surprised "wait...was one of them named Sora?"

"Yeah...how..." Reno was interrupted

"Sora is the chosen wielder of the Keyblade, the one who took down your father's heartless lab assistant." Leon answered.

The Turks and Rinoa looked at him surprised, while Vincent just cracked an eyebrow.

Leon then turned and looked out the door, and crossed his arms. He waited a moment before he finally spoke up.

"Right...Sora?" Leon said as he glared out the door.

"Awww Come on Leon!!!" the young keyblade master said as he walked through the door followed by Riku, Kairi, Donald, Goofy, and the King, whom most everyone bowed to upon his entry.

"I told you he would see you Sora." Riku said with a smirk.

"Yeah but, hey it didn't hurt to try." Sora said only leaning his head in Riku's direction.

* * *

End Chapter 4

Xigbar: Awesome dude.

Me: It's rather short but I think I'm gonna make this chapter a 2 parter.

Axel: Sweet...I knew that the red haired guy was familiar but...

Me: Axel... (I make an unseen gesture and I notice Zexion staring at Namine & Roxas who are sleeping again) don't touch them Zexion, we don't want a repeat of what happened at the end of chapter 3.

Xigbar & Zexion: What happened at the end of chapter 3?

Demyx, Larxene, and Axel: You don't want to know.

Xigbar: (Staring at R&N) Poor little dude, he never gets enough sleep back at the castle, Vexen keeps putting some caffeine potion in is food...some sort of pay back for the time Roxas decided to mess around in his lab.

Zexion: and Namine is always chasing Xaldin around to try and get her scissors back.

Larxene: Was that why he was running around the castle with a chain of paper dolls, laughing and shouting "PRINCESSES" at the top of his lungs?

Xigbar: Don't remind me.

Me: I knew it...Luxord owes me fifty bucks.

Xigbar: (Pouts)

Me: Ok Xigbar I have the perfect way to work off that anger, you can blast all the flame reviewers.

Xigbar: Sweet!!! (Grins devilishly...I could swear I saw 2 devil horns appear)

Axel: What about me?

Me: Just this once Axel, ok?

Axel: Fine

Me: Ok on the count of 3 like we rehearsed...1...2...3!

Everyone: **REVIEW THE STORY PLEASE!!!**

Roxas: (Waking up) W-What did I miss? OWWW!!! NAMINE!!!

Me, Axel, Demyx, and Larxene: Not again.

Xigbar: Ha this is better than watching a Cops marathon!


	5. Meeting Old Friends part 2

Me: Ok the other half of chapter 4 is here…and Namine and Roxas aren't fighting anymore.

Xigbar: aww bummer

Larxene: Hey quit ogling the witch, Xigbar.

Namine & Roxas: HEY!!!

Larxene: what?!

Roxas: You called her a witch again.

Larxene: Oops…relapse...sorry. (Cheesy grin)

Me: anyway on with the story.

Axel: Hey Demyx wake up, the story's starting.

Demyx: YES!!!

Me: (Starts the story)

* * *

"Sora what are you doing here?" Yuffie asked curiously, as she glared at the gorgeous redhead behind him. (Jealousy thy name is Yuffie)

"The King, Donald, Goofy, and the three of us are working together to unravel the mystery of why some of the deceased members of Organization XIII are still alive."

"**WHAT?!?!" **the walls practically shook when everyone, except Vincent, the Turks, and Rinoa, said that.

"That's what we said when he told us." Riku said with a smirk.

"What is this Organization XIII, I heard Leon mention it earlier." Vincent asked the young keybearer.

"Organization XIII was…or is... an organization of Nobodies who work towards acquiring hearts so they can become 'whole." King Mickey explained.

"But lately a few of them have returned some how." Sora continued.

"Which ones are still alive?" Leon asked whipping out a pad of paper and pen.

"Well…there's Xigbar, Zexion, and Luxord. But those are the only ones we've confirmed." Sora explained.

"What about Xemnas, Xaldin, Lexaeus, Saix, Demyx, Marluxia, Larxene and Roxas?" Leon asked writing the names down.

"They're all dead as far as I know. As for Roxas…" Sora lowered his head slightly and tapped his chest.

"So…Roxas was your Nobody." Leon said with a smile.

"Yeah…oh and Kairi had a Nobody too…hers was named Namine and she had this strange ability to alter memories." Sora said putting his arm around the redhead who blushed slightly.

"That possibly explains how we suddenly remembered you all at the same time." Leon said putting the pad away.

The two continued talking as Riku looked at Elena and Reno carefully, Reno was too curious as to Sora and Leon's conversation to notice him but Elena spotted the glaring teenager.

"What are you looking at kiddo?" Elena snapped at him, if there's anything Elena doesn't like it's being stared at. However when she said "kiddo" Sora stopped talking and looked at her curiously. Donald and Goofy both looked at her the same way, now she was getting nervous.

"Why are you staring at me?" She pleaded. "You look…familiar some how." Sora said without blinking. Kairi suddenly put her hand on her head and started to moan as if in pain. Yuffie noticed this.

"Hey…you ok?" she asked the redhead. Kairi didn't respond for a moment then suddenly…

"**EEP!!! DON'T HURT ME NYMPH!!!"** Kairi quickly ducked behind Sora and was shaking like she'd seen a ghost. Everyone started looking at Kairi as if thinking 'what's wrong with you?'

"Nymph?" was all Elena could ask before Kairi started to glow with a white aura and all of a sudden a transparent, blond haired girl in a white dress with blue sandals literally walked out of Kairi…well more like backed out.

"NAMINE" Sora said as he spun around and saw Kairi's nobody appear. Namine materialized and proceeded to run and hide behind Reno.

"I appear to have a foreign object attached to me." Reno said with a caring smirk. Namine poked an eye from around the red haired Turk and stared at Elena with a look of absolute fear, Elena on the other hand looked confused. Sora then started acting similar to Kairi before Namine appeared.

"Wait a second…Nymph…Nymph…L-Lar…Larx…LARXENE!!!" Sora shouted as he summoned the Keyblade, but instead of the Kingdom Key appearing. Oathkeeper and Oblivion appeared instead.

"What the…Roxas?" Riku asked surprised, and sure enough Sora started to emanate a blue aura and a transparent Roxas side stepped out of Sora and materialized. Roxas glared at Elena who was looking like a deer in the headlights.

"Wait a minute isn't that Larxene one of the Organization members?" Rufus asked curiously.

"The twelfth member, she commands the element of lightning, and fights with eight throwing knifes." Roxas said without looking away from Elena.

"They're called KUNAI!!!" Elena snapped, she immediately got a sudden bewildered look on her face, everyone looked at her strangely, everyone drew their weapons as Elena suddenly started to glow a bright yellow and a transparent, blond haired woman with two antennae like bangs, wearing an outfit similar to Tifa Lockhart's. (Me: If you saw FF7 Advent Children, that's the outfit I'm referring to.)

"Hello Roxas." The woman said as she clinched her fists and a kunai appeared between each finger. But everyone…and I mean everyone was ready to do battle.

* * *

End Chapter 5

Larxene: Oh that's why she seems familiar…Elena is my other.

Axel: Then how are you still alive?

Me: I will answer that eventually but you have to be patient…and no spoilers.

(A dark portal opens up and three hooded figures appear)

Unknown: I must say I am impressed with the story so far.

Everyone: (Sweat drop)

Me: Who? (The hooded figures remove their hoods, its Luxord, Saix, and…Xemnas)

Xemnas: Xigbar says the story is going well; so I decided to come see for myself…that and someone (Glares at Xigbar) stole the castle's popcorn supply.

Me: Just so you know…Xaldin and Vexen are absolutely forbidden from watching.

Xemnas: (Glares at me)

Me: (Mockingly) oh please like that will work, I've beaten you so many times in KH2 I could do it in my sleep.

Xemnas: (Grumbles, Xigbar snickers)

Luxord: (Cracks eyebrow at me) what's with the hair?

Me: If you haven't noticed from the beginning of chapter 4 Namine had braded it…which is weird because I'm a guy.

Larxene: She's estrogen deprived most of the time so she does EVERYONES hair…I mean who do ya think did mine, Xemnas's, Saix's, Zexion's, Roxas's…Axel's (snicker).

Axel: She doesn't do mine.

Namine: He's right I don't.

Luxord: Damn. (Pulls out $20 bucks and gives it to Xigbar who laughs in delight)

Me: anyway, readers please review.

Xemnas: Or suffer the wrath of Organization XIII (Sinister laugh)

Me: Oh shut up Mansex. (Xigbar cracks up…I grin devilishly), say Xigbar, I didn't notice how "Minty Fresh" your breath smells.

Xigbar: Buhhhhh (Runs out the room…which has now erupted in laughter)

Me: Here's your $20 bucks for letting me call you that Xemnas…I just had to see if that line worked.

Xemnas: No problem, it works every time :3

Me: (Computer beeps) Whats this? (Check out chapter 6 to see what it was)


	6. I see Dead Nobodies

Me: (Snicker) Well Xigbar is now consuming all of my mouth wash (Snicker) oh I almost forgot...**WE HAVE OUR 1****st**** REVIEW!!!**

Everyone: **YAY!!!**

Zexion: Please don't glomp me again. (Whimpers)

Axel: Yeah you were turning the same color as your hair.

Zexion: (grumble)...hey, we got any more popcorn?

Me: Oh and here's a cookie for Blackkeyblade for being our first Reviewer.

Saix: It would seem she doesn't "fear" the smoldering embers being produced by Axel.

Axel: Watch it moon boy.

Saix: Are you Angry? Do you hate me?

Larxene: SHUT UP!!! I'm already out three peanut M&Ms. (She, Luxord, Roxas, Namine, and Demyx are playing poker for M&Ms, apparently mini's are $1, regular are $5, and Peanut are $10...go figure)

Zexion: Do. We. Have. Any. More. Popcorn?

Me: Geez Zexion, what are you a Popcorn addict? (Tosses Zexion a packet of popcorn)

Xemnas: Are you going to start the story or not?

Me: Right...ALRIGHT ALL WE'RE STARTING THE STORY AGAIN!!! (Everyone but Xigbar gathers around)

Xigbar (from bathroom): (in an obviously inebriated state) Wha-?

Me: (Grinning) MINTY FRESH!!!

Xigbar (from bathroom): Buhhhhhhh...

Me: (Laugh's manically and starts the story)

* * *

The Savage Nymph looked around and realized she was by far outnumbered, but instead of simply surrendering, she started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Roxas asked without blinking.

"You guys are sooooo predictable." She laughed and banished the Kunai from her hands, "You honestly think I'm crazy enough to try and fight all of you single handedly?"

"She's right, which means she's either alone or has backup of some sort." Sora said as he stood beside his nobody.

"Well...the only one that I know for sure is here is..." she turned towards Reno, "Axel."

Everyone looked at Reno like he was diseased, and held their weapons at him as well.

"Who is Axel?" Reno said frustrated.

"Axel is number 8, in Organization XIII; he wields the power of fire, and wields two Chakrams. He also has this catchphrase of his...commit it to memory, and he looks and sounds a lot like you." Roxas said to Reno.

"WHAT!!! We look nothing like each other, we don't even sound alike and why would I wield fire, **Got it Memorized**...Awww CRAP." Reno started to glow Red, and as expected, out waltzed a transparent Axel with a red t-shirt and black baggy pants on...the second he was clear of Reno's now bug eyed body, he materialized.

"Nice to see you again Roxas, ol' buddy ol' pal." Axel said rustling Roxas's hair. Everyone was staring at Axel and Larxene like they were the plague. That is until Kairi walked over to the Pyro and kicked him hard in the shin.

"**YEAAOWW!!!" **The scream could be heard from the underworld. "What did you do that for?!?!" Axel said as he started hopping around on one foot, holding his injured leg.

"That was for kidnapping me!" Kairi said as she waved her finger at the pyro.

"Oh that...well...ok I deserved that...wait...Sora I thought you explained that to her?!?!" Axel said, clearly annoyed.

"Oh yeah...Kairi, Axel kidnapped you to try and see Roxas again, and it was never his intention to do anything to you." Sora said smirking at Axel, who snarled back at the Keyblade master.

"Roxas...can Axel and Larxene be trusted?" Leon asked without looking away from either of them.

"Axel...yeah, Larxene...I have no clue." Roxas said as Larxene crossed her arms.

"Oh thanks a lot Roxas." Larxene huffed.

"Well you were horrible to Namine." Roxas said shooting a re-assuring glance back at Namine who was now grafted on to Axel, trying to hide from Larxene.

"Yeah...I know I was horrible, but...having the chance to feel what a heart is like...I felt things...I never knew I could." Larxene said as she turned to look at Elena who was just as bug eyed as Reno.

"I felt things like, guilt, loyalty, remorse, and all these weird feelings..." Larxene lowered her head.

"You too?" Axel said surprised.

"Wait a minute, I thought you died, Axel...how did you survive?" Sora asked confused.

"I thought I had died but, apparently if your other still lives you automatically join together with them, like Roxas did with you Sora, and Namine did with Kairi." Axel explained.

"Apparently when you join back with your other, you essentially share a heart with your other...so you can feel emotion." Larxene continued.

"So you're...re...formed?" Sora asked with a smirk towards Axel who smirked back.

"Yeah I...guess so...and besides I felt Elena's feelings when she returned here, it's an emotion so...so..." "Happy?" Elena filled in the blank. "Well...a bit more than that...more like...Joy." Larxene said as if she had become a different person...after a moment she turned towards Namine, who cowered again behind Axel. She walked over towards the young girl, reached out and...hugged her.

"Larxene?" Namine asked confused as everyone looked at Larxene strangely...Sora noticed a tear start streaming down her face, she was crying.

"I (sniff) am so sorry, (sniff) I wish I could undo all that I have done to you but I can't." Larxene said as she continued to break up.

"Ok...I forgive you...but...could you let me go...I can't breathe." Namine said as she struggled slightly to get free. Larxene chuckled as she released the nobody.

"Thank you." Larxene mouthed to the girl.

"I'M SO SORRY MAN!!!" Axel said as he dived down and lifted Kairi into the air in and started to snuggle her like a giant teddy bear.

"AXEL PUT ME DOWN!!!" Kairi screamed as she pushed the pyro's face away from her own...when that failed she reached around the back of his head and squeezed the point where the neck and shoulders meet.

"YEOW!!!" Axel yelled as she dropped back down to the floor and the rest of the group started laughing. Kairi dusted herself off and rejoined Sora.

"Anyone else got a nobody in there?" Sora asked looking around.

No one answered, but Sora looked at Rufus curiously as if he had seen the face before...

"Haven't I seen you somewhere before?" Sora asked curiously.

"No...Don't think so." Rufus said with a shrug...suddenly it hit Sora...

"Do you play any sort of musical instrument?" Sora asked with a grin and winked at Axel and Roxas, who grinned and stared at Rufus, who began getting nervous.

"No...Well...my dad insisted I take up some stringed instrument he had seen in some world called Agrabah but I didn't follow through." Rufus said with a shrug.

"Well what was the name of the instrument?" Sora asked with his smile growing bigger by the second.

"A...sitar...why...do you ask?" Rufus said as he noticed Roxas and Axel inching closer to him with looks of villainous joy, suddenly Roxas stopped and pointed behind Rufus and shouted...

"LOOK YOUR SITAR BROKE A STRING!!!" **"WHAT?!?!" **Rufus shrieked as he spun around to look behind him, he turned around as he heard Sora, Axel, Roxas, Namine, and Larxene laughing their fool heads off.

"What's so funny?" Rufus asked.

"Face it, your busted...DEMYX!!!" Roxas said between fits of laughter.

"Awww man..." Rufus said as an aqua colored aura surrounded him, and out strolled a transparent Demyx who the second he materialized summoned his Sitar to his hand which he kissed and started to stroke as if it was a lost pet come home.

"Uh, boy...there's more of um." Reno said as he slouched and rubbed his hand over his face.

* * *

End Chapter 6

Demyx: YES I'M IN THE STORY!!!

Axel: Do Reno and I really sound alike?

Larxene: Yup.

Zexion: I could hardly hear a word, damn Xigbar retching in the bathroom the whole time...please don't say the "M" word anymore.

Me: What you mean MINTY FRESH?!?! (Xigbar throws up again)

Xemnas: and I thought I was evil. (I chuckle sinisterly)

Unknown: I heard that Cloud was here.

Everyone: (Sweat drop)

Me: Oh...my...God...who in the name of Kingdom Hearts invited (dun. dun. dun.) **Sephiroth.**

Sephiroth: I was looking for Cloud, you seen him?

Me: Buhhhhhhh...uh...no? (Cheesy grin)

Sephiroth: I see...will he be here soon?

Me: uh...he can be.

Sephiroth: Fine...I'll wait then. (Throws Axel from his seat and sits down.)

Me: (Dialing Tifa's Seventh Heaven) Hi Tifa...Yeah it's me...oh thank you it's coming along great...Yuffie said what about me? (Blushes, Sephiroth clears his throat) YIKES Ah...is Cloud there?...Uh could he come here right away...well...uh...(Zexion holds up and points to empty popcorn bowl) we need some more popcorn (Thumbs up to Zexion) ...Yes Tifa, Popcorn...well Zexion's here...Oh thank you Tifa...Oh feel free to drop by if you don't mind a bunch of guys in black coats, a girl who likes to braid my hair, and a (Sephiroth glares daggers at me and mouths the phrase 'Sin Harvest') YIEE uh...bring Yuffie if you can...THANKS. (Hangs up) Happy now, oh mighty, glorious, Lord Sephiroth? (Cheesy Smile, sweat drop)

Sephiroth: You may live for now.

Xemnas: While the author is busy (Mutters: Kissing Sephiroth's butt) I shall take the liberty of saying please review...for we need to know what your hearts feel about this story.

Larxene: Geez Louise boss do you have to be so...poetic?

Xemnas: Hmph...You wouldn't know good poetry if it bit you in the...

Me: (Interrupting) Oh ho Kay, lets keep this on a friendly level people...as long as we can.

Axel: (Whispering) didn't you say you beat this guy? (Referring to Sephiroth who is making Demyx cry by cutting his Sitar strings with the Masamune...the jerk)

Me: (Light bulb appears over forehead) (Whispering) Right, I have Ultima-weapon in my room...and I have a plan for when Cloud shows up... (Whispers plan to Axel.)


	7. Insert Title Here

Me: Well...uh...Sephiroth is still here and Cloud has YET to show up (Knock at door)...Finally. (Opens door)

Cloud: Sorry I'm late...Fenrir got a flat tire. Tifa said...you...needed... (Notices Sephiroth using Xigbar's unconscious body as a foot stool) **SEPHIROTH!!!**

Sephiroth: Good to see you...Cloud (Cue the Advent Children version of One Winged Angel)

Me: **Axel!!! **(Axel appears and throws the Ultima-Weapon Keyblade to me) (Cloud is now brandishing the First Tsurugi) Two against one?

Cloud: Lets... (Battle Begins)

Me: **Larxene!!! WRITE...THE...STORY...PLEASE!!!...ROXAS, ZEXION, YOU TWO HELP HER!!!**

(Roxas, Zexion, and Larxene comply as the rest of the Organization minus Xigbar all whip out their weapons and start attacking Sephiroth...Namine ducks under the computer desk.)

Larxene: Uh hi readers...umm...while Sephiroth is getting is one winged butt whooped... (Roxas Interrupts)

Roxas: ...we will be taking over story for now... (Zexion interrupts)

Zexion: Uhh who's going to type?

Roxas & Larxene: Uhh...you?

Zexion: (Shrugs) ok then I'll deal with...**DAMN IT DEMYX WATCH WHERE THAT WATER DANCES!!! **(Demyx: Sorry...YIKES!!!) (Demyx narrowly dodges the Masamune)

Roxas: Let's start the thing while we have a chance.

Larxene & Zexion: Yes Lets. (Starts Story)

* * *

"So Rufus...your Nobody was Demyx?" Sora asked disbelievingly while looking at the former Melodious Nocturne who was wearing a blue shirt, black vest (unbuttoned), and black pants.

"Apparently so..." Rufus said with an expression that could only say 'No more booze for me.'

"Sora...can Demyx be trusted?" Leon asked with little interest.

"He's a bit kooky but he's not bad." Sora said with a shrug.

"Ok then, Axel, Larxene, and Demyx..." The nobodies turned their attention to him, "If you want to stay, you will have to do something to help with the restoration efforts."

"Sure why not," Axel said instantly, "Does it involve power tools?" Larxene asked.

"Yes?" Leon asked arching an eyebrow.

"I'm in." Larxene said with a smirk.

"Ok I'll do it...besides I could do something that involves water." Demyx said with a cheesy grin.

"Ok then it's settled, all three of you are now official members of the 'Radiant Garden Restoration Committee.'" Leon announced followed by Axel pumping his arm (Zexion: If you don't get it...oh well) Larxene letting out a "Woo hoo" and quickly clamping her mouth as if saying 'did I just do that.' Demyx gave a golf clap and said strumming his Sitar...

"This calls for a song..." **"NO!!!"** was the unanimous response from the ENTIRE group.

* * *

Later, everyone but Merlin, (who decided to clean up after the stampede of people in his home) Yuna, Rikku, Paine (Who went shopping), and King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy (who had to return to Disney Castle), were all on their way to Ansem's castle to meet with Aerith and Cid...Along the way some of the members of the group looked at some of the destruction caused by the Heartless and were stunned by the damage.

"Vincent...you ok?" Rufus asked the red cloaked warrior, who was looking at the hole in the Bailey wall, from where the Heartless had broken in.

"It's hard to believe, that even though you have only been gone for a year, so much can still change." Vincent replied.

"Yeah I know..." Rufus said as his thoughts returned to the fact that his father was dead...Ansem...probably the greatest scientist the worlds have ever known...dead. Rufus had always cared for his father, but when he started his research on Hearts, he had this feeling that it would have been wise to not enter that domain.

"What about you?" Vincent asked the young blond, "What about this nobody of yours...Demyx...Where did he come from?" "Yeah where did he come from?" Rufus jumped as he noticed the young Keyblade master had walked up beside him.

"About a year and two months ago, Elena, Reno, and I were in another world...that's what I did...I went around trying to find various items that could help my father's research, such as synthesis materials, orbs, some magic stuff called Materia. (He could have sworn he saw Yuffie twitch when he said that) But one day these heartless forms of some of dad's research assistants appeared out of no where and took our hearts, but then the King arrived and slew their heartless forms, restoring our hearts to us." Rufus said as they walked up the steps towards the postern.

"Mmmm" was all Vincent said.

* * *

When the group finally made it to Ansem's study, Leon could hear not two but four familiar voices from behind the door.

"It can't be..." Leon whispered to himself as he burst through the door, with his gunblade drawn only to see a flash of metal block the attack...it was a large, thick sword wrapped in bandages and its wielder was smirking at him.

"Leon!" the spiky haired wielder of the First Tsurugi Sword said "...You always drop in at the right time."

"Cloud." Leon said putting away the gunblade and exchanging a firm handshake, Cid, Aerith, and Tifa were however slack jawed at the parade of people filing in behind Leon...then Cid spotted Vincent.

"Hey Vince! How ya been ya old son of a gun?" Cid asked as he slapped Vincent on the back.

"Fine...you?" "Never better." "Ever build that dream gummy ship of yours?" "Worken on it..." "Good to hear." "Oh come on, you won't say one word to me but your willing to talk Cid's ear off." Yuffie fussed.

"I cannot begin to understand why shorty." Cid said in a mocking tune.

"Wha- Why I outta!!!" Yuffie reared her leg back and kicked Cid right in the shin causing the air to turn real blue real fast as Cid hopped out towards the computer room as Yuffie smirked satisfied. Once everyone had gotten over the initial shock from the sudden string of curses, Cloud turned to the five nobodies.

"Hey, aren't you five part of that Organization of Nobodies we had to deal with a while ago?" Cloud asked pointing the sword at them.

"We WERE part of Organization XIII but we...uh..." Larxene said before Axel interrupted "...but we died, Got it Memorized."

"Cloud, they can be trusted..." Sora said lowering Cloud's sword.

"Alright, but I'm watching them." Cloud said as he turned to the Keyblade master. "I owe you some measure of thanks, for helping me find Sephiroth." Cloud said to the young boy.

"Did you get him?" Sora asked hopefully.

"No...He vanished when we got to our world...which was...practically gone." Cloud said as he lowered his head (Rhyme not intended).

"So...your home is gone?" Riku asked walking up beside his best friend.

"It would seem that way." Tifa said "But we did manage to rescue a few people...they're getting their stuff put away in one of the castle guest rooms."

"Really, how many?" Leon asked curiously.

"Three...you know one of them Leon." Tifa answered.

"I do?"

"Yep...you remember Barrett Wallace don't you?"

* * *

End Chapter 7

Me: You won't believe this...It turns out Sephiroth only wanted to be in the story...who knew?

Sephiroth: Yes...and now the chances of my appearing is high.

Me: We'll see...and if you so much as say 'Sin Harvest' I will cut that wing off you so fast it will make you dizzy. (Sephiroth pouts)

Cloud: You mind if I stay?

Me: Me? Mind? (Chuckle) Cloud, the day your not welcome here is the day hell freezes over. (Knock at the door...I answer it)

Tifa: Hi, we thought we would drop by. We would have called first but we kept getting your answering machine.

Me: (Glancing at the cut cord between the phone and the base, I roll my eyes) Sure come on in...But don't be surprised at who all's in here... (She spots Sephiroth and blinks a few times.)...Case and point. (My eyes become covered suddenly)

Unknown: Guess who?

Me: The grand ninja of Wutai?

Yuffie: How did you know?

Me: I'm good... (Smirk) (I spot a flash of pink hair out of the corner of my eye.)...What the...Marluxia what are you doing here?

Marluxia: I was going to come in but I saw your yard lacked color...besides brown, yellow, and black...and well...I couldn't resist.

Me: Lemmy guess...I have a garden now?

Marluxia: a small one but yes.

Me: (Sinister grin) Hey Axel...wanna burn something? (Marluxia looks petrified) Just kidding Marl.

Sephiroth: If anyone reads this story and submits a flame review or does not review at all something bad will happen...

Axel: Like?

Sephiroth: (Chuckle) well...it will contain the words 'Sin' and 'Harvest.' (Sinister smile).

Axel: (In a creep-ed out sort of way) Got it Memorized?

Me: I think we may get along just fine Sephiroth.

Yuffie: Hey Zexion...fork over the popcorn.

Zexion: Nuh-uh...Get your own.

Yuffie: Ok then...Hey Blackkeyblade (Blackkeyblade appears through black portal) Zexi-kun needs a hug. (Blackkeyblade glomps Zexion again...who surrenders the popcorn) Thank you.

Larxene: I like her style.

Namine: I like her hair.

Me: I like her...wait...never mind…Well readers I'm going take a small break because school starts Monday for me, (Everyone gives me a sad look) and long story short I had a very SHORT summer break so…I'll start back up on this story eventually…but don't worry, Organization XIII, Cloud, Sephiroth, Tifa, and Yuffie, will be back, to watch along with me so…byeeeee.

Everyone: BYEEEEE!!!


	8. The New Mystery

Me: Hello all I'M BAAAAACCCCCCCKKKKKK…until Monday (frowns) and I decided to update the story a bit. I wasn't able to get the Organization back here, something about Xaldin's birthday (I sent him a dead fish). Sephiroth is off fighting Cloud somewhere, as evidenced by the faint "One Winged Angel" theme in the background…that and I can see them going at it outside…Tifa is busy at the 7th heaven, and Yuffie is helping, And Namine is naturally with Roxas. But on the plus side I do have the three heroes of Kingdom Hearts here (Blessedly). Sora, Riku, and Kairi.

Sora, Riku, and Kairi: (All wave)

Me: I just can't write alone.

Kairi: …and we were coming over anyway.

Me: Right…well on with the story.

* * *

"Barrett Wallace… The big guy with the machine gun arm?" Leon asked instantly

"The one and the same…he also brought Marlene along" Tifa answered not noticing a certain red haired nobody walking around behind her, and giving her looks as if cat calling internally.

"Marlene?" Rinoa asked "…Barrett's adopted daughter?"

Cloud only grunted and nodded in response before narrowing his eyes and turning to glare at the pyromaniac looking at his (Cloud's) girlfriend.

Axel didn't even notice until he felt a pair of eyes burning a hole in his head and he turned to see a death glare that only the One Winged Angel himself could rival.

"What?" Axel asked with an innocent chuckle.

Reno quickly ran over to him and whispered something in his ear which caused Axel to adopt the "Dear in the headlights" look and then grin and smile, whilst backing away.

Cloud just shook his head.

Just then a big dark skinned man appeared in the doorway. He was wearing a large white vest, green baggy jeans, a fishnet like undershirt, his hair was a Mohawk, and his right hand was mechanical.

He was also holding hands with a small fair-skinned girl wearing a white dress with a large red bow in a ponytail in her hair.

"HEY HEY LEON!!" the big man yelled, letting go of the small girl and pulling Leon into a hug.

"Hey Barrett," Leon said as best he could with what little air he could get "…good to see you." Barrett finally let him down and the two, plus Cloud and Tifa, began to reminisce.

Eventually Sora noticed the small girl (Now identified as Marlene Wallace) looking at Roxas kind of dreamily, and snickered causing the nobody to pry his watchful eyes off of Larxene, who he didn't quite trust fully, and look at his other with a confused look on his face.

Sora walked over to Roxas and whispered in his ear "I think the girl there likes you." This news caused Roxas to instinctively reach for Namine's hand, which gained him a loving look from the latter, and a slightly saddened look from the small girl.

By this point everyone was talking to other people in the room. Everyone that is except Vincent (Who was trying to keep from shooting himself because of Yuffie incessantly try to get him to talk to her), Rude (Who never talks), and Demyx (who was playing his sitar).

Suddenly a loud shot rang out and everyone who had a weapon drew it while those who didn't instinctively hid behind those who were armed.

Everyone turned to look at the Gullwing trio who had just returned from shopping, with Yuna aiming a smoking pistol in the air with another one in her other hand.

Rikku was holding a pair of chakram like daggers and Paine was holding a large black sword.

"Will SOMEONE please direct us to somewhere we can stay hmm?" Yuna asked impatiently as she holstered the two pistols.

"You could have asked a bit nicer." Sora asked as he and almost everyone dropped their combat poses

"We tried but no-one could hear us." Paine answered causing almost everyone to drop their heads.

"Sounds like a good idea to me really…where can we stay?" Larxene asked crossing her arms.

"I call dibs with the cute blond in the bikini!" Axel announced as he "black-portaled" over to Rikku and gave her an encouraging smile causing Roxas to snicker.

"Watch out for this guy Rikku." But she didn't even notice the blond nobody as she was too busy blushing from Axel's look.

* * *

A few hours later a place in the castle had been found for practically everyone, except for Sora, Riku, and Kairi (who were only visiting), and Vincent (Who had his coffin moved to the old castle morgue).

Sora, Riku, Kairi, Cloud, Leon, Rufus, and the Turks, were gathered around in the study, with Rufus in his rightful position behind his father's desk.

"So what do you think the living members of the organization are up to, now that they're revived?" Cloud asked the Keyblade master.

"I don't know…We saw Luxord in Neverland, while trying to steal Capt. Hook's pirate ship, and Xigbar in the Olympic Coliseum, signed on as a competitor, and Zexion in the Library at Beast's castle." Sora explained

"What were they doing?" Leon asked.

"Well…" Sora went on to explain that Luxord claimed that he had won Hook's pirate ship in a poker game, Xigbar was signed up in a tag team match with Hercules against the Blizzard and Volcanic Lord Heartless, and Zexion was simply reading books.

"Why am I strangely comforted by that thought?" Reno asked sarcastically.

"I'm with Reno. They have to be up to something." Rufus said leaning forward.

"Did uh…Beast know that Zexion was one of the Organization XIII members?" Tseng asked

"No, he said he had been there since a little bit after this guy that looked like him except with red hair got thrown in the castle dungeon." Sora said back

"Wait…red hair?" Rufus asked suddenly.

Everyone but Rufus looked at Reno…"Hey don't look at me."

"Reno isn't the one I'm referring to…Tseng, do you remember Ienzo?" Rufus asked as he turned to look at the Turk.

"Sure do, he was the one who was always proof read your father's research notes and all of his reports wasn't he…he always carried a Lexicon around didn't he…wait..." Tseng said as he came to a startling realization "…He had red hair!!"

"That means Ienzo may still be alive!" Rufus said as he spun back around to look at the Keyblade master.

"Quick Sora, did Beast say what he did with him after he threw him into the dungeon?" Rufus asked eagerly

"No he never said, but we'll go ask him as soon as we leave here." Sora said proudly, with Riku and Kairi both nodding behind him.

Tseng gave the small red headed girl a disbelieving look.

"No offence to your girlfriend Sora, but she doesn't look like she can handle much in the way of fighting." Tseng said as the three Destiny Islanders got red faced.

Suddenly Tseng found himself unconscious with a large bump on the side of his face. Kairi was standing on the desk with a flower like Keyblade in one hand and the "Wonder of the Abyss" Keyblade in the other, and her clothes had turned red. She had entered Valor form.

"How did you do that?" Reno asked bug eyed

"Simple" Sora said with a smirk "Because she is a Princess of Heart she can not only wield a Keyblade but she can also enter any drive form on her own."

"Oh so that's how." The Turks minus Tseng said in unison.

"Now what about Xigbar?" Cloud asked as he turned back to Sora.

"Well Hercules said he got hired by Phil as a security guard." Riku spoke up.

"Now that's strange…why would Phil hire one of the former Organization members as a security guard?" Leon asked

"Because they never saw my face." A certain mullet headed nobody said as he walked in the study, causing Rufus to bury his face in his hands.

"None of them ever saw my face, nor heard my name because I had my robe on, and chances are that Xigbar may be dressed differently." Demyx said.

"He's got a point; they were all dressed differently when we saw them. Luxord was in a pin striped business suit, Zexion was in a light blue dress shirt and baggy khaki pants, and Xigbar was dressed sort of like a pirate from Port Royal." Sora said

"…and of course he still had his eye-patch." Riku added

"Now you say the King is looking into this?" Rufus asked

"Yep he even lent us the Gummy Ship so we could get around on our own." Sora said as Rufus slowly stood up.

"Will you three investigate Luxord, Xigbar, and Zexion some more, and be on the lookout for any reference to the others of the remaining members of Organization XIII?" Rufus asked the trio

"Sure we will. (Sora)" "You bet. (Riku)" "We'll do our best. (Kairi)" The three said at the same time

"It looks like you three have your work cut out for you." Tseng said as he climbed back on his feet.

"We sure do, but Riku and I are used to it by now." Sora said with a smile and a shrug.

"Why don't you guys stay here for tonight? Then you can leave refreshed and ready to go tomorrow." Rufus suggested. They agreed and set off to find a place in the castle to sleep for the night.

* * *

Meanwhile in the remains of the Castle that Never Was, a dark horned woman looked out over the ruins of the Nobody city and smiled at her new castle as a black portal opened before her.

With her bumbling buffoon of a henchman at her side she watched as a single hooded figure appeared before her from within the portal.

"I believe you were expecting us, Witch?" the figure asked as five more hooded figures emerged behind him and the portal closed.

"Yes I have, and I have also been expecting this one's arrival." Maleficent said as a different portal opened and the dreaded wielder of the Masamune sword appeared causing Pete to quiver in fear.

"S-S-Sephiroth." Pete said as he hid behind a large column.

"Good to meet you…Maleficent." The One Winged Angel said in his cold emotionless voice as he kissed Maleficent's hand, like the dark gentleman he was.

"It is good you could make it, Sephiroth. Come, my new friends we shall join together and reap our vengeance upon those who defeated us, and bring the worlds to their knees." Maleficent said with a villainous laugh that evolved into an evil cackle.

* * *

End Chapter 8

Me: Well that's my update for a while.

Sora: Cool

Riku: Now who are the hooded figures?

Me: You honestly don't know?

Riku: (Pause) Organization XIII members?

Me: Yep but which ones they are I shall withhold until later in the story.

Kairi: I'm glad you make me tougher than I was in the games.

Me: Apparently you have never seen the Dead Fantasy series.

Sora, Riku, Kairi: Huh?

Me: I'll explain later…

Axel: (emerging from black portal) Hey, you wrote a continuation without me?

Me: Now wait a minute I left a message on your cell phone.

Axel: (Checks messages) Oh…sorry man, I was at Xaldin's birthday party…he got mad cause someone sent him a dead fish.

Me: (Grinning wickedly) Gosh what a shame…Hey you still want to burn the flame reviewers?

Axel: You know it

Me: Good, you're hired…so until next time…bye!

All: BYEEEEEEEEEE!!


	9. A Whole New Adventure

Me: Hello again everyone, I'm back once again with chapter 9. (A black portal opens) And we have guests…Oh it's the gruesome twosome (Axel & Roxas)…and guest (Zexion).

Axel: I told you he was gonna be writing a new chapter.

Roxas: Ok. I'll buy you lunch, next time as we agreed.

Axel: Deal.

Me: Hey Zexion, guess who's been begging for you…again?

Zexion: sigh Blackkeyblade?

Me: Yep…oh and to those who don't read the reviews, Blackkeyblade is this story's most frequent reviewer…if not only reviewer…oh and she's a Zexion fan.

Zexion: …and I have the "Glomp" marks to prove it.

Axel: Oh come on "Zexi-cun" you know you like it.

Zexion: Who ever said that I didn't like it?

Roxas: Anyway can you start the story before Zexion tears into the first packet of Popcorn?

Me: Sure (Start's story)

* * *

The following morning, almost everyone in Ansem Castle (Me: That's what I decided to call it) had awoken a little early to see our heroes off.

Sora, Riku, and Kairi were on the factory floor of Ansem Castle, (Where the MCP sent his computer heartless to the real world) where Cid was making some final improvements to the Gummy ship.

Many of the Restoration Committee members both new and old came out to say their good luck to the trio. Yuffie was the first to speak.

"Well…good luck you guys, and if you ever need any help…" she said as she made a dramatic pose, "…be sure to call the Grand Ninja of Radiant Garden to save you." Yuffie said as everyone started looking around trying to find out where the mysterious fanfare music was coming from.

(Mid fanfare) "…that's only if ya need to lose a battle." (Needle scratch) Cid said smiling with a cigar hanging out of his mouth (Me: oh just a small note, Cid is in his Advent Children's costume now).

Yuffie didn't get a chance to come up with a comeback as Sora spoke up.

"Don't worry Yuffie; we'll call you when things get too tough." Sora said as Kairi gave Yuffie a thumbs up, which the Ninja promptly returned and walked off.

"Well Sora" Aerith said as she walked up to him. "I suppose you're off for a new adventure."

"Yeah…I guess so." Sora said with his traditionally optimistic smile.

"Hey don't worry about him Aerith." Riku said putting his arm around the Keyblade master's neck "He's got me watching out for him." Riku said giving Aerith a wink and a smile causing the latter to smile. (I think the boy's in love with the flower girl)

"I know I said this once before Sora," Leon said as he walked up, "But, even though we may never meet again, we will never forget each other." Sora smiled as the wielder of the Gunblade was joined by his long love.

"I hear that you're the one I should thank for helping to bring Squa'…I mean Leon and I together again." Rinoa said as she slipped her arm around her boa's waist. She then realized something and reached in her pocket and pulled out a circular object that looked like a keychain.

"Here take this as a measure of my gratitude…" Rinoa said as she handed the keychain to Sora.

It was a circle with a pair of black lines shaped like an X through it. The circle appeared to be divided into four quadrants (Think of a Simon says game) with two quadrants opposite each other with a silver line on the edge of it.

"…It's called Blaster Edge, I got it on my travels." Rinoa said as Sora applied the Keychain to his Keyblade and it morphed into a single angel wing with three feathers on the end making the teeth and a handle similar to the keychain's design.

"Wow thanks." Sora said as he removed the keychain and placed it in his pocket along with the many other key chains already in his possession.

Cloud & Tifa were up next.

"So…" Cloud said.

"Don't worry Cloud, if we se Sephiroth, you will be the first to know." Sora said giving Cloud a reassuring smile.

"Good luck you three…I hope you succeed in your mission." Tifa said shortly before they moved aside and Demyx, Larxene, and Axel, walked up.

"So…no hard feelings?" Sora asked his former foes.

"We're Nobodies you dolt we don't have feelings." Larxene said in her typical manner before smiling "…but yeah no hard feelings." She said with a smirk.

"Oh, Demyx…sorry for calling you a kook back when I um…killed you." Sora apologized to the Melodious Nocturne.

"Hey it's… (Snicker) 'Water under the bridge.' Get it? Get it?" Demyx said earning groans from those who knew his element was water.

"Well kid, good luck out there." The Flurry of the Dancing Flames said ruffling Sora's hair. "Oh and be sure to give any heartless or evil nobodies out there a good whooping…Got it Memorized?" Axel said in his trademark manner.

"You got it Axel." Sora replied, but as Axel turned to rejoin the group, Sora called out to him.

"Oh hey Axel. Wait!" Axel stopped and turned to face the young Keybearer as the latter dug in his pockets for something and finally found it.

"Remember this?" Sora said holding up what appeared to be a keychain of one of his (Axel's) chakrams. Sora applied the keychain to the Keyblade and it immediately morphed into the "Bond of Flame" Keyblade.

"Oh yeah, back when I helped you get to the 'World that Never Was.' You still have it?" Axel asked.

"Yep." Sora replied as he removed the keychain allowing the Keyblade to return to its basic Kingdom Key appearance and held the Keychain out for Axel to take.

"Keep it buddy, you need it more than I do." The pyro said as he turned back to join the others.

Finally Roxas and Namine approached.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye and good luck." Roxas said with his head lowered.

"It doesn't have to be, you can go with us Roxas, you are my Nobody after all…plus you technically know more about the Organization members than I do." Sora said as he begged the nobody to join him.

"He has a point Roxas." Riku said "I worked with Ansem a long time, and my time in Castle Oblivion gave me some insight into some of the Organization members, but compared to you, I know absolutely nothing…uh, no pun intended." Riku said as Roxas laughed

"What about Namine?" Roxas asked.

"I can stay with the Gummy ship whenever we arrive at a world, and I have been paying attention to Sora's gummy ship flying lessons whenever he tried to teach Kairi." Namine said.

"I can also use my magic to defend myself if necessary." The young witch said as Kairi smiled at the thought of having another female on the journey.

"Ok then it's decided, Namine and I will be going with you." Roxas announced as Cid walked up behind them.

"Alright kids, all aboard the Gummy express." Cid said as the Gummy ship began to glow with energy and a blue beam shot out from underneath and the team walked towards it.

Turning one final time to face their smiling friends; Cloud, Tifa, Leon, Rinoa, Yuffie, Cid, Aerith, Axel, Demyx, and Larxene.

The five smiled back and entered the blue beam…Both vanishing instantly.

With a roar, its four engines ignited and the gummy ship screamed out of the hanger and vanished in a flash of light.

As Cloud watched the light dissipate, Tifa smiled and looked at him reassuringly.

"Don't worry Cloud, they'll be back…I know they will." Tifa said as she slipped her arm around his waist.

* * *

**Beast's Castle**

In the courtyard of Beast's castle, a bright flash interrupted the night sky, and four youths stood where it appeared.

"Wow, this place still is just as gloomy as it was the last time I was here." Sora said as he looked around.

"You mean the last time WE were here. I was inside of you remember?" Roxas said as the four approached the castle doors.

"Oh yeah sorry Roxas…I guess you do remember everything I've done ever since we became whole again huh?" Sora asked his nobody.

"Sure do. The same goes for Namine and Kairi…even though they joined together at the end of the last adventure." Roxas said as Kairi blushed realizing that Namine knew some of the things she wanted to keep a secret from the boys.

The four entered the castle and found it much brighter than usual, with the chandeliers lit and the place had been cleaned within an inch of its life.

About that time they heard a faint clanking noise and a just as faint ticking noise. As Riku and Kairi started looking around for the noise, Sora and Roxas just shrugged they knew it was the enchanted candelabra Lumiere and the clock Cogsworth walking…or more appropriately clanking down the hallway. Sure enough the four heard the two bickering back and forward about something.

"I told you the master doesn't trust our new guest, he thinks there is something very strange about him." Cogsworth said in answer to an unheard statement made by Lumiere.

"I know I know, but ze mastur, thinks he may know a way to break ze spell a little sooner." The candlestick replied as the two entered the entrance hall and received surprised stares from Riku and Kairi.

"Hey guys." Sora called out to the two.

"Sacre Bleu! Monsieur Sora! You've returned! And you have brought guests!" Lumiere exclaimed.

"Yep, Lumiere, Cogsworth, let me introduce you to my friends, Riku, Kairi, and my…uh..." Sora paused, not knowing whether or not to identify Roxas as a nobody quite yet. "…brother, Roxas."

Roxas gave Sora an understanding nod, signaling he understood and approved of the secrecy.

"Monsieur's and mademoiselle welcome, welcome." Lumiere said excited to have new guests in the castle.

"Will the four of you be staying for dinner?" Cogsworth asked them eagerly

Sora and Roxas stomach's growled simultaneously earning a slight snicker from Riku.

"Oh we couldn't possibly impose upon you like that…I mean it just isn't polite to barge in unannounced and expect to stay for dinner." Kairi said politely

"Impose? Mademoiselle we haven't had this many guests here at one time before in a long time." Lumiere laughed.

"And judging by that rumble from young master Sora's stomach…he is hungry." Cogsworth stated matter-of-factly.

"Well…as long as it's no trouble…I mean Beast may want to have a nice private dinner with Belle." Roxas said.

"I wouldn't worry too much about that." A voice said from nowhere. Everyone started looking around for the mysterious voice, but Roxas and Riku knew immediately whose voice it was, and they summoned their key blades.

Shortly after that a black portal appeared then dissipated leaving in its place the Cloaked Schemer himself.

"Besides, Beast and Belle already ate." Zexion said without expression…that is until he spotted Roxas.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the Key of Destiny himself, Hello Roxas." Zexion said as his Lexicon appeared out of thin air.

"Or should it be **GOOD BYE ROXAS!!**"

* * *

End Chapter nine

Zexion: Wait a minute I don't hate Roxas!

Me: I know but in the story you do…don't worry It will all be explained in the next chapter.

Zexion: Ok then.

Axel: I always wondered whether or not Sora kept the Bond of Flame.

Me: Well now you know.

Roxas: Yep, and this time I'm a participator, and not just a spectator.

Me: I thought you would like that. You know I may just start continuing this story in my spare time now that I have received a well timed dose of Kingdom Hearts enthusiasm.

Axel: and I thought Superior and Vexen used big words.

Roxas: Can I kill the flame reviewers this time?

Me: Sure…that is if Axel doesn't mind.

Axel: Knock yourself out good buddy.

Roxas: Alright.

Me: Ok will one of you call numbers 1,2, and 7 through 12 and tell them that I'm starting the story up again, while I tell Cloud and the gang.

Roxas: (Reaching for his cell phone) sure thing.

Axel: (Pulling out his cell phone) Come on Zex, you too.

Zexion: (dialing his cell phone) I'm already dialing.

Me: Next up folks, the fight between our heroes and Zexion, plus still to come: The mysterious six Organization Members and their evil plot…plus the goings on at Radiant Garden while our heroes are away.

Axel: Got it Memorized?


	10. Zexion and Nobodies at Work

Me: Well it's a near full house here. All but numbers 3,4, and five of Organization XIII are here plus, Cloud brought ten boxes of popcorn, Tifa brought plenty of sodas (No alcohol…there are minors present.) and Yuffie and Zexion are on Popcorn duty, Sora, Riku, and Kairi are here…Oh and I finally persuaded Sephiroth to stop being a pain in the butt.

Sephiroth: That would be when I appeared in Chapter eight.

Xemnas: (In a bored monotone voice) On behalf of Xaldin, Vexen, and Lexaeus I must formally protest their not being invited.

Me: Hey the only one not invited is (Growl) Xaldin.

Axel: Yeah Vexen is always too busy, and Lexaeus couldn't care less…and we all know how Mr. Star Tours Traveler feels about Xaldin.

Xemnas: (In normal voice) True.

Larxene: Hey S Double T!

Me: That's my nickname…S double T…It's an Axel thing, Yes Larxene?

Larxene: When are you starting this thing…I want to see Zexion's butt whooped!

Zexion: (From Kitchen) I heard that Nymph!!

Larxene: Bite me; you still owe me ten bucks from whether or not Demyx could beat himself in Kingdom Hearts II!!

Me: Did I mention that Sephiroth is handling security? (All fall silent as Sephiroth is heard sharpening the Masamune with a small stone, and smiling sinisterly) Ok then let's start the story.

* * *

By now all four of our heroes had their weapons drawn and Lumiere and Cogsworth were hiding behind a statue.

"Look Zexion, I don't know what I did to you but I…" Roxas said but was interrupted by a large dark lexicon flying towards him, which Sora promptly took down with Reflect.

The resulting blast from the reflect spell (at it's the highest level) hit Zexion, but the Nobody leapt into the air sending three more dark lexicons down towards the heroes until a sudden beam of bright light vaporized them…It was Kairi using her special limit break called Heart Light.

"Such power…such Light!!" Zexion said to himself as he retreated into the ballroom, only to be greeted by Riku who had slipped past him during the Heart Light limit break, and charged at him with Way to Dawn in hand.

Zexion blocked the attacks with the lexicon and quickly flew out of Riku's range only to have to block Riku's Dark Aura attack. Roxas then leaps over Riku (Who was standing in front of the door) and begins his limit break called Destiny's choice.

Oblivion starts to glow purple and Oathkeeper glowing white, Roxas then throws them into the air and they join together like a fan blade and start spinning in a wild vortex of Light and Dark energy, Roxas then jumps up and swings the Vortex by the Keyblades over towards Zexion and it sucks him in.

A few seconds later the vortex dissipates and Zexion falls to the floor, but lands upright and charges Riku and Roxas. He leaps into the air preparing to send more lexicons at them when the two suddenly dive in opposite directions to reveal Sora and Kairi flying towards him, both in Final Form.

Sora with the Kingdom Key and the Bond of Flame Keyblades and Kairi with her Keyblade (Me: I'm calling it Life bringer) and the Divine Rose Keyblades swirling around them.

The two immediately start slashing at the Cloaked Schemer who eventually falters and is hit by the four Keyblades repeatedly in a furious attack.

Zexion dropped to the floor with a loud crash, and Sora and Kairi float safely to the ground and revert to their normal forms.

Zexion struggles to stand up but fails.

"You win…Roxas." Zexion said as he grimaced after every word.

Kairi walked over to him, and placed a hand on his shoulder, stooped over and picked up the fallen Lexicon, then handed it to the fallen Nobody with a caring smile. Zexion was obviously baffled by this.

"Why…you beat me, and yet…you let me live? Why?" Zexion asked as he sat on his knees.

"Aww come on Zexion, we didn't come here to kill you…or fight you for that matter." Sora said compassionately.

"If…if that is so…why did you come here?" The Schemer asked.

"We just wanted to find you that's all." Roxas said offering him a hand, which the Nobody promptly took hold of and pulled himself up.

"By the way, why did you want to kill me?" Roxas asked

"From what Xaldin told me before Sora killed him…" Zexion went on to explain that Xaldin had told him that both Roxas and Axel had gone rogue and that Xemnas had ordered their annihilation, and that he hadn't heard from another Organization since Xaldin was killed.

"Oh so that's why you attacked me…I would have thought that you would be after Riku for defeating you." Roxas said pointing a thumb towards Riku who was cautiously thumbing through the Lexicon.

Zexion looked at Riku for a moment, and then shook his head.

"No. I lost to Riku fair and square…it was that cursed replica of him that I hate more than anything." Zexion said as Sora started tapping his forehead as he tried to figure out what he was talking about.

"Well you don't have to worry about the replica anymore…" Riku said glancing up briefly from the Lexicon, "…It died." Zexion was surprised then lowered his head in remorse.

"I thought you would be overjoyed Zexion?" Riku asked curiously.

"Hey when you know Zex as long as I have, you learn that while he may hate something, he doesn't want it to die…he hates death…despite what others say." Roxas explained.

"Ok I am starting to get a headache…what are you guys talking about" Sora yelled in frustration.

There was a long pause before Zexion finally said…

"You don't know because you never saw it, nor can you remember…that's what happens to those who enter into Castle Oblivion." Zexion told the young and very confused Keybearer.

"Castle what?" Sora asked even more confused.

"-Oblivion. A castle that the second you enter it, you forget every ability and every spell you ever knew and as you progress up its thirteen floors, you forget more and more until you can hardly remember your own name." Zexion explained

"Is that why I had to go to sleep for a whole year?" Sora asked the Schemer.

"I don't know…I honestly don't know." Zexion said with a shrug.

"Uh Sora I hate to be a nag, but we do have a mission." Roxas said finally.

"Huh…oh right…Zexion we didn't just come here to find you." Sora told the nobody.

"I figured there was another reason." Zexion shrugged. "What are you looking for?"

"…your other…Ienzo."

* * *

**Radiant Garden**

The sun was shining, birds were singing, and Axel was getting to use a welding torch…life was good.

The entire Restoration Committee was hard at work making repairs to the city.

Larxene was put in charge of recharging the batteries for the power tools, which she could do in a flash, while Vincent Valentine would take the fully charged batteries to the correct worker just as quickly using his red cloak form.

Demyx was using his power over water to fill a large barrel with water so that Marlene Wallace could pour in powdered Gatorade mix and stir it up…with Tifa's supervision of course

Things were going along smoothly…then it happened…Yuffie, who was showing off for the un-attentive Vincent, doing a hand stand and drilling a nail into the wall at the same time.

Well the nail went in all the way but when it got far enough in, the drill stopped spinning the nail…instead it started to spin Yuffie around…and considering the fact that Yuffie get's motion sick easily…let's just say that there was a mess.

To make matters worse when she finally let go of the power drill, she was thrown straight into the air. By now she had the attention of the entire restoration committee.

"Uh boy." "Oh no" Reno and Rude said in that order.

Larxene and Elena (Who was on a Gator-aid break) looked at each other and nodded in a "Let's do it!" kind of way and Larxene grabbed Elena's wrist and together the two black portaled to opposite ends of the wall they were working on, and Larxene instantly summoned a fist full of kunai and threw them at a set of flag poles where a sturdy yellow cord materialized quickly between each kunai.

Each kunai dug into a pole as Elena fired her Net Caster gun (as seen in FF: VII Advent Children) towards a set of flag polls on the opposite side, with the darts attached to the net sinking into the flag poles just like the kunai.

Larxene then grabbed the Net Caster and leapt into the air and landed perfectly on the center pole then jumped down and as the net cord came down and did a loopy-loop, up and over the yellow cord with the gun in hand.

Yuffie came screaming down and safely landed on the net.

Larxene and Elena bowed to the thunderous applause from their spectacular rescue.

Yuffie fell into a blissful state of unconsciousness for the rest of the day.

* * *

Later during the day Reno found his nobody fighting against Demyx's water forms for practice on the factory floor where our Heroes had departed from earlier in the day.

As Axel defeated the last form, he turned to Demyx. "Ok let's call it a night." To which the Melodious Nocturne agreed and promptly slumped down into an Indian style pose and started playing his Sitar.

It was then that Axel noticed Reno watching.

"Hey there Other Brother." The pyro said friendlily.

"Other Brother?" Reno replied confused until he figured it out a few seconds later. Axel just laughed.

"Yeah, if your gonna live around your Nobody, you kind of have to get used to the awkwardness."

"Yeah but that Sora kid makes it look so easy." Reno said

"Hey watch it buddy, other or not you're talking about my best friend and his other." Axel argued.

"Chill man I didn't mean it in a bad way, I was just saying its kind of weird being around a near duplicate of yourself sometimes." Reno replied to which Axel nodded.

"You're telling me." A voice said from over the sitar music in the background

"Uh, Demyx, you and Rufus are nothing alike…except for your love of water, and a few of your facial features." Axel said to which the Nobody in question stopped playing.

"Ohhhhhh?" Demyx said standing up, "Reno do you remember when Rufus got his hair cut because he liked the way some guy passing through the city had it?" Demyx asked as Reno doubled over in laughter.

"Yeah…His hair was a total…mess…" Reno said between fits of laughter.

"It was a mullet wasn't it?" Demyx asked knowingly.

"…Yeah…now that you mention it…it was…in fact…I keep a black mail photo of it on me at all times." Reno said as he fished in his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He proceeded to flip through a set of clear plastic pages with pictures in them until he found said picture.

"Here it is." Reno held it up to Axel who looked at the photo…confused.

"Uh Reno…this isn't Rufus…this is Demyx…" As Axel looked at the photo of a frowning and miserable looking Demyx he noticed something familiar, then it hit him, "…and he's wearing Rufus's business suit!" Axel exclaimed as he realized that the similarities between a slightly younger Rufus Shinra and the Melodious Nocturne.

"So that's where the mullet came from." Axel said in surprise.

"It sure is." An angry Rufus Shinra said as he stormed towards Axel and Reno. But as he approached the two he stopped about midway and got a confused look on his face.

He stomped the floor a few times before stooping down closer to the floor and stomping again.

"Okay…has he officially flipped?" Axel asked his other, but Reno didn't answer, he knew when Rufus was on to something.

"That's odd. The floor sounds as if it's…hollow." Rufus said as Demyx walked over to him.

"Demyx…do you know anything about what happened in this castle prior to the heartless defeat?" Rufus asked the Nocturne.

"Well…there were rumors about Superior having some secret room hidden beneath the castle but that's just what I heard from Zexion before he got killed in Castle Oblivion." Demyx explained as Rufus stood there thinking.

"Hey how come I didn't hear anything about this?" Axel asked, feeling offended for not being informed.

"Well I would have thought Larxene would have told you."

"I would have told him what?" the familiar voice of the Savage Nymph asked as she walked onto the factory floor.

"Superior's secret room." Demyx responded

"Oh the Room of Sleep?" Larxene asked back receiving an exasperated look from both the Flurry and the Nocturne.

"You know what it's called?!" the two said in unison.

"Yeah…sometimes it pays to spy on meetings between higher ranking members." Larxene said with a smirk.

"So what is it?" Axel asked

"Dunno…I got caught by Mr. Bull's-eye before they said anymore." Larxene said with a snicker. (Me: Mr. Bulls-eye Saix)

"Well whatever it is…" Rufus said finally breaking his silence "…but it is definitely beneath this floor."

"Well someone has to know how to get down there!" Reno said as Rufus looked up at the control room.

Axel, Larxene, and Demyx's respective gazes turned towards the control room as well. Then suddenly it clicked…

"**TRON!!"**

* * *

End Chapter 10

Me: Well that was certainly a long chapter.

Axel: (Laughing hysterically) Mr. Bull's-eye…that's rich!

Saix: Do you hate me? Did I do something to offend you?

Me: No but it sounds like something Larxene might call you.

Larxene: True

Yuffie: Despite the fact that I nearly caused a disaster while showing off…I thought it was very good…but seriously I really don't act like that.

All: **OH YES YOU DO!!**

Cloud: Especially around Vincent.

Yuffie: (completely missing the crowd's argument) Hey where is Emo Supremeo anyway?

Me: Locked in his coffin if he knows what's good for him.

Zexion: So that's why I hated Roxas.

Me: Yep.

Sephiroth: When will I be featured again?

Me: Soon…possibly the next chapter. (Turning to Saix) Tell you what moon boy, how about I let you go berserk on all the flame reviewers.

Saix: (Smiling sinisterly) Excellent.

Me: Then it's settled. Ok Xemnas…hit it!!

Xemnas: (In a dramatic movie trailer announcer's voice) Readers! Stay tuned for what happens in the next installment of the Reunion Series. Will Sora and his friends find Zexion's other? Will the Restoration Committee find Xemnas's fabled Room of Sleep? And what does Maleficent, Pete, Sephiroth, and the mysterious six hooded figures have in store for the warriors of the Light? All this and more coming soon to a Fanfiction website near you.

All: (Applauds)

Sephiroth: I can do it better.

Xemnas: Oh…I doubt it.

Sephiroth: Oh yeah?

Xemnas: Yeah!

Me: (whimper) Just what we DON'T need…a fight between Xemnas and Sephiroth.

Luxord: Place your bets people, place your bets!!

Me: Oh shut up and put me down for ten bucks on Sephiroth.


	11. Ienzo, Computers, & return to Olympus

Luxord: And the winner is!! (Pales) a…a…DRAW!?

All: WHAT!?

Me: Wow...who da thunk that Sephiroth and Xemnas would have been an even match.

Xemnas: Refund them no.11!!

Luxord: (shrugs and refunds everyone their money…plus an extra dollar as a bribe not to hurt him)

Me: Oh well…Let's continue the story.

* * *

**Beast's Castle**

"So…you're looking for Ienzo huh?" Zexion said as he took his lexicon back from Riku.

"Yep…we're trying to figure out why all the Nobodies are starting to reappear." Sora explained.

"Well that's easy." Zexion explained, "When a Nobody fades back into darkness, they really just join their other. Your still alive and therefore so is Roxas. The only way to prevent this is if your other is dead then when your Nobody fades into darkness…" Zexion lowered his head.

"Oh…so…Ienzo is still alive?" Sora asked hopefully.

"Yeah, he's in a secret room in the castle dungeon." Zexion said as a loud roar shook the castle.

"Uh-oh, it's Beast!!" Roxas yelled and sure enough the ballroom doors slammed open revealing the Beast crouching back, ready to pounce when Sora ran up to him.

"BEAST WAIT!!" Beast stopped as he saw the Keyblade master running towards him.

"Sora?" Beast asked disbelievingly, he recognized Riku, he thought the girl was familiar, the other spiky haired kid looked a lot like Sora, and there in the middle, in his light blue dress shirt and khaki pants, holding his lexicon was…

"ZEXION!!" Beast charged at him but was blocked by a reflect spell cast by Sora.

"Beast wait…he's ok!" Sora said as he grabbed beast's arm.

"Sora why are you with him?!" Beast said as he pointed at Riku. "He tried to kill you!!"

"That was a long time ago, Riku's changed, and the darkness inside of him is gone now." Sora reassured the beast, who returned to his slumping posture.

"Beast…is everything alright?" a familiar female voice asked from the doorway, it was Belle, "Oh…Hi Sora, it's great to see you again" the princess of heart asked as she entered the ballroom.

"…and Kairi, how are you doing…goodness you've grown." Belle said as she recognized her fellow princess of heart, she then noticed Riku trying not to look at her, but to no avail.

"…and Riku," Riku flinched, all the guilt that he had after having kidnapped her had finally started bubbling up to the surface.

"…you've grown quite handsome yourself." Belle said with a smile as she put her hand on his shoulder. Riku was surprised to receive such a merciful response from the woman he once kidnapped, and turned to look at her, he then started to smile, and was about to apologize when she compassionately put her finger to his lips.

"Shhh…it's ok, I don't blame you, I blame the darkness." Belle said as she finally removed her finger.

"Thank you." Was all Riku said.

"Umm…what about us nobodies?" Roxas said as he crossed his arms. Beast took a closer look at Roxas.

"You smell like Sora." Beast said quietly. Sora shrugged and decided the jig was up.

"That's because Roxas is my Nobody, he was created back when I lost my heart back in Hollow Bastion." Sora explained as Beast nodded and turned to Zexion who nodded…

"Yes beast I'm a nobody too…just like Xaldin and Roxas." Zexion said as Beast hunched back over.

"Then…what you said is true…Not all nobodies are evil." Beast said as he looked back at Zexion.

"Why would I have taught you to read if I was evil?" Zexion asked as he placed a hand on the beast. After a moment Zexion lifted his hand and said.

"Beast I need to cash in that favor you owe me." "What is it?" Beast asked back.

"I want you to release the red haired man in the secret dungeon." Zexion said as beast nodded with a smile.

"Follow me." Beast said as they all marched towards the dungeon.

When they finally reached the dungeon, they found a large empty hole in the dungeon wall, leaving beast and Zexion wide eyed. As they got closer, they found it was no longer a dungeon…but a tomb.

"No…IENZO!!" Zexion said as he ran towards a black coffin with a familiar purple lance sticking out of it.

"XALDIN!!" Zexion shouted as he realized that Xaldin had murdered his other.

Zexion then slumped over and started to cry, as the rest of the group lowered their heads in remorse.

* * *

Later out on the bridge where Xaldin had been defeated. Beast heaved the coffin over the bridge and into the river at Zexion's request.

"Where will you go?" Sora asked the nobody who was now in his Organization XIII robe with the hood up, but not enough to cover his face."

"I don't know…now that I'm on my own now, I can choose my own fate." Zexion said softly.

Roxas turned and looked at Sora and shrugged as if expecting an answer. Sora knew what he was waiting for.

"You know Zexion, we've been talking and we've decided that you can come with us if you wanted to…right guys?" Sora asked as his friends nodded with a smile on their face.

"Really? I wouldn't want to intrude." "Hey, Ienzo gave you a second chance at life, now it's time to give yourself that chance." Riku said as he smiled at the Nobody who waited and thought, long and hard about it.

"Alright…count me in." Zexion said as he pulled the hood down behind his head.

After saying good bye to Beast, Belle and the others, the Heroes boarded the Gummy ship which immediately tore off into space.

"So how did things go down there guys?" Namine asked as she spun around to face them from the controls. Then she saw Zexion.

"Oh hi Zexion…welcome aboard." "Namine?!" Zexion was surprised the witch was still alive.

"How are you still here? I thought you had vanished after that whole Castle Oblivion incident." Zexion asked as Namine smiled and turned to Kairi.

"I never died, I simply rejoined my other." Namine said as Kairi walked up beside her. Zexion looked at the two and quickly understood their relationship.

"So where are we going?" Zexion asked as he took a seat.

"We're heading to one of the places where we saw one of the former Organization members…" Riku said as he punched in the coordinates, "We're heading to Olympus Coliseum."

* * *

**Radiant Garden**

Reno, Axel, Larxene, and Rufus burst out of the elevator dissing Demyx furiously while the Nocturne was rolling on the floor laughing his fool head off…of course he had farted in the elevator, and was very lucky that Axel didn't have an open flame at the time.

After the five had recovered (and nearly throwing Demyx over the railing) they entered the control room to find a confused looking Cid, who had temporarily paused his work on his dream gummy ship, and some other secret project.

"What the heck is going on with you boys…and girl?" Cid said as Larxene ignored the gummy ship builder.

"Cid I hate to throw you off the computer but this is definitely Committee business." Rufus said as Cid quickly saved his work and relinquished the computer.

"Sure…ya mind telling me what it is though?" Cid asked, as Rufus nodded.

"You'll see." Rufus said as he turned to the computer. "Tron?"

"Greetings user Rufus Ansem…It has been a long time since your last accessed this system." Tron greeted, unaware of Rufus's name change.

"Tron please change my user account name to Rufus Shinra" Rufus said as he typed in his password.

"Acknowledged Rufus Shinra…awaiting instructions." Tron reported happily.

"I need you to search the D.T.D. for any and all references about the 'Room of Sleep" Rufus instructed as the program began searching.

"Stand by." Tron reported as the following appeared on the screen

"Searching…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Found 7 related files"

"0 files accessible by this user"

"7 files accessible by System Administrator: Ansem the Wise"

"WHAT!? CLASSIFIED!!" Rufus was enraged to say the least. "Tron what do I have to do to access these files?"

"One moment…It appears that the files can only be accessed through user: Ansem the Wise's personal user account." Tron reported

"Then switch over to it." Rufus demanded

"One moment…" "…If I hear that thing say 'One Moment' one more time, that thing is gonna need a surge protector!" Larxene threatened as Demyx and Axel attempted to quell the Savage Nymph's temper.

"I'm afraid his user account requires a series of passwords to access." Tron replied, displaying a red circle with seven blanks arranged around it, under each of the six blanks on the sides were a single letter, while under the top blank was the letters A.T.W.

"I haven't a clue what the passwords are…and Elena's my best hacker, and even she can't get through dad's security protocols." Rufus said as he realized he couldn't access the required files.

"Wait a minute…" Larxene said as she put her hand to her chin as if in deep thought, "Who says you have to access the files?" she said as a smirk swept across her face.

"You know something we don't Larx?" Axel asked as she continued.

"Actually Elena knows something, she overheard your father explaining that only he and his assistants could access his account…which probably means that one of them could give us the password." Larxene said Rufus began to understand.

"…so when Sora finds Ienzo, he can give us the password." Rufus said as Larxene gave him a pathetic look.

"Actually I was thinking that one of their nobodies could give us the password…like Zexion, he was one of the original six apprentices' nobodies, so he should know the password." Larxene said as Rufus looked out the window towards the factory.

"Let's just hope that Zexion is in a mood to talk." Rufus said hopefully.

* * *

**Olympus Coliseum**

A bright light appeared outside the newly rebuilt Olympus Coliseum, and where it appeared stood our five heroes.

"Whoa, Hercules has been busy!" Sora exclaimed as he looked around. Roxas in the meantime was looking around for any sign of Xigbar, and didn't notice a familiar man in a black pen striped suit approaching them from behind.

"That's right Sora, and it cost him a pretty penny." An older male's voice with a hint of an English accent said from behind them causing them all to jump and draw their weapons.

"Easy lads…and lass, I mean you no harm, its bad sportsman ship to try and get revenge on one who defeats you at your own game." The Gambler of fate said as the gang slowly put away their weapons.

"…and Zexion, it's good to see you again, and Roxas, you haven't changed a bit." Luxord said with a smile.

"Luxord, what are you doing here? I thought you were in Neverland trying to take ownership of Capt. Hook's pirate ship." Sora asked the nobody.

"Bah I thought about it and I realized that I had no use for a pirate ship, so I gave it back to him." Luxord said still smiling…that is until he heard the familiar voice of a certain pint sized Satyr.

"Hey Lux! I's gots a problem over here, quit talking to the guests and get to work!! What am I payin you for, huh? Hobnobbin?" Phil said, irritating the nobody.

"PHIL!!" Sora yelled, as the Satyr stomped…or clopped over towards his employee.

"Wha?! Well well if it isn't the junior hero." Phil said coming to a dead stop.

"Junior hero, I'd say Sora is an honest to Pete hero." Riku defended.

"Yeah, have you saved the worlds before?" Kairi asked.

"Well I…"

"Have you ever brought down a major Organization of evil Nobodies bent on obtaining hearts for themselves at all costs?" Roxas poked.

"Well no but…"

"Have you ever survived the thirteen floors of Castle Oblivion?" Zexion added

"But I don't…"

"Guys! He's not the hero, he trains heroes but he's not one himself." Sora said as he defended the Satyr.

"Oh…then who is the hero?" Riku asked.

"That would be Hercules…" a stoic, yet familiar voice said from behind.

"Auron!!" Sora said as he ran towards the once dead warrior.

"Sora…glad you're still alive…unlike some of us." Auron said largely despairingly.

"Hey chin up Auron; you can still fight can't you?" Sora encouraged.

"Yes, so?" "So, what Sora means is you need to fight death." Zexion said with a smile, causing Auron to give a slight chuckle.

"I already did, and I won." Auron said, referring to his, Hercules, and Sora's fight with Hades.

"Then it sounds like you're off the hook." Roxas said as he walked up beside his other.

"I have been feeling a little…more lifelike than usual lately." The red cloaked guardian said with a slight smile.

"Whoa, happy ending man." A surfer like voice said from nearby causing Roxas to smile and roll his eyes. Sure enough out of the shadow of one of the columns walked the Freeshooter himself.

"Have you been a good boy Roxas?" Xigbar asked in his usual surfer like attitude.

"Oh please with Sora as my other, how can I be good?" Roxas laughed.

"So what brings you little dudes and dudette to the Olympus Coliseum?" Xigbar asked.

"We're looking for you two actually" Kairi said referring to Luxord and Xigbar.

"Us? Why?" Luxord asked back.

"We're trying to find all the members of Organization XIII and make sure they're behaving…like good boys." Riku mocked.

"…and girl…don't forget Larxene." Xigbar reminded.

"Nah we don't have to, we know she's all right…in fact, she, Axel, and Demyx are back in Radiant Garden right now helping with the restoration efforts there." Sora explained.

"Looks like you found Zexion ok." Xigbar responded as the Cloaked Schemer started looking around, getting a strange feeling, like they were being watched.

"Wait a minute…you mean to tell me these guys are Nobodies?!" Phil said surprised

"…you two failed to mention that on your job applications." Phil said as the two nobodies in question started to act innocently.

"Uh…well." "You see boss it's like this…" the two attempted to explain but Phil cut them off.

"Well I hope you can find a place that'll take ya, cause your both FIRED!!" and with that Phil stormed off leaving the two unemployed Nobodies speechless.

"Ouch, sorry guys I didn't mean to get you both fired." Sora said hoping that the two didn't turn on him…fortunately…

"Forget about it, I was planning on quitting this lousy job anyway." Luxord said as he turned back to Sora.

"Yeah, besides that cheapskate nanny goat, didn't pay us squat." Xigbar said with a smile and a shrug.

Suddenly there was a loud crash from within the stadium followed by a small group of Shadows and Dusks that appeared out of nowhere.

"Nobodies? Heartless? Where did they come from?" Sora asked as the group drew their weapons.

"Well don't look at us!" Luxord said as he snapped his fingers and three nobody like versions of the Card Guards from Wonderland popped out of nowhere.

"**I**…sent them!!" A booming voice said from out of nowhere.

All the former Organization members and Riku knew who it was.

Suddenly a large hole opened up in the ground as the earth shook and a large column of rock shot out from it, and standing on top of it, brandishing his giant orange tomahawk, was the Silent Hero himself.

"And may I add that things are about to get a little ROCKY!!"

* * *

End Chapter 11.

Me: Well I wonder who will win this battle royale.

Axel: What you don't know?

Me: Yes I know, but I'm not saying because it just isn't done.

Axel: Ah…

Me: Well until the next chapter folks.


	12. Lexaeus & Phoning Home

Me: Alright a friend of mine asked me something the other day that would make sence for me to explain. My friend asked me why I named this fic. Reunion...surprisingly it's not because of the fact that a number of people are reunited with their friends and loved ones. Here is the defenition of Reunion as it relates to the fic...Zexion?

Zexion: (Opens his Lexicon, clears throat) Reunion: the event that occurs whenever a nobody is killed while their other still lives, essentilly a "Reunion" of the body with the heart.

Me: Thank you Zexion, I hope that helps you to understand the reason for my madness, now on with the story.

* * *

"LEXAEUS!!" The four Nobodies and Riku shouted as said nobody leapt off the towering rock, right towards Riku.

The crowd scattered, except for Xigbar who fired countless blasts at the descending warrior, but Lexaeus was quick and blocked every shot. Xigbar dove out of the way as number five dove into the ground causing a massive shockwave, knocking everyone down…

…Everyone that is except Auron, who charged the Nobody with his massive broadsword in hand. Lexaeus raised his Tomahawk to block his attack, but not before Auron ran to the side and hurled his sword towards the orange haired nobody only to have him dodge it.

"HA!! Missed." He taunted, but curiously the guardian simply smirked, as Lexaeus got a bad feeling in the back of his mind, and turned to see Auron's sword connected with Sora's Keyblade in the Bushido limit break creating the massive tornado.

Lexaeus instinctively caused another column of rock to shoot out from beneath him, catapulting him high into the air, and away from the tornado. Just as he thought he had escaped he found himself falling face first into the twister's gaping maw. As he fell he looked up to see Roxas waving at him with a smirk on his face.

Luxord immediately pulled out two decks of playing cards and hurled them into the tornado.

"PLAYING CARDS?!" Riku shouted in disbelief.

Luxord merely hurled a single card at a vase, that was apparently heavy enough to withstand getting pulled in, the card cut right through the vase and kept going, Riku was impressed.

The tornado subsided and Lexaeus was hurled into the arena portion, and landed with a resounding thud.

It only took a few seconds for the Heroes to enter the arena where Hercules was completely lost with what was going on around him.

The orange haired, now red faced, nobody burst out of the ground sending a shower of large boulders into the air, one streaked towards Zexion who calmly opened his Lexicon with the inside facing the boulder, which flew straight into the book and vanished as Zexion quickly closed it and leapt up high into the air.

A bright aura of white light surrounded the book as he opened it towards Lexaeus, and an unending stream of boulders flew at the Silent Hero who quickly summoned a wall of rock out of the ground to block the bombardment.

Lexaeus struggled as he tried his best to keep the wall from crumbling, and failed to notice as Kairi and Riku ran around the wall on opposite sides of the arena and faced each other to begin a powerful joint limit break, called Bright Shadow.

Kairi summoned the light from within her heart as Riku did the same with the residual darkness that lingered within his own. Channeling the energy through their Keyblades they fired the powerful beams of light and dark energy at the struggling nobody.

Despite getting pummeled by the powerful attack he managed to keep the rock wall up…that is until Hercules charged it and slammed both of his fists into it causing it to crumble, and the still unending barrage of boulders broke through and crushed the nobody.

As the dust settled around the hill of rocks Zexion descended, with his book tucked under his arm. The heroes gathered around to see if there was anything recognizable left of him, but to their dismay they found the nobody partially buried, but still with a massive rock formation on top of him.

Lexaeus began to get blurry and small pieces of him started to tear off as he started to fade back into darkness.

With a last great effort he glared at the heroes defiantly and sneered…

"Got any messages for my masters?"

"Yeah tell them that whatever they're planning, they won't get away with it!!" Sora said as Zexion stepped forward.

"…and you can tell Xaldin that I'm waiting for him." The Schemer said as Lexaeus smirked.

"I see you found his…gift for you." Lexaeus sneered, as Zexion charged forward, intending to deliver one final blow, but to his annoyance the nobody simply vanished with a mocking laugh.

"AUGH!!" Zexion yelled as the darkness faded away.

"Relax Zexion, well get him for this." Sora said as Hercules stepped forward.

"Can someone please explain what just happened here?" the Hero asked.

Sora introduced his companions and explained to him all about the Nobodies and their current adventure.

"So this guy was a Nobody?" the hero asked.

"Yes, just like the one who stole the Olympus Stone from you." Auron said as he referred to Demyx.

"How do you know about him?" Sora asked as Auron explained

"He ran past me as I was wandering around the underworld…muttering something about Cerberus."

"Yep that's the sitar boy alright." Xigbar said with a laugh.

"Well now my friend…" Luxord said as he turned to the Freeshooter, "…where shall we go, now that we're unemployed?"

"Hey, why don't you go to Radiant Garden?" Roxas suggested.

"Where?" the two asked in unison.

"It's the original name for Hollow Bastion." Riku said as Luxord put his hand to his chin in deep thought.

"I'm sure they could use a hand with an extra nail gun!" Roxas said as he gave Zexion a knowing smirk, which the Schemer returned.

"I'M IN!!" Xigbar shouted.

"Do you know if they could use an accountant?" Luxord asked hopefully.

"Well…I'm sure Rufus could use a hand with figuring out his dad's old accounts." Sora said as Zexion, Roxas, and Xigbar snickered.

"Knowing the Ansem family curse for their inability to handle funds from firsthand experience I think Rufus could use all the help he could get." Xigbar said as he wiped a tear from his good eye, receiving confused looks from Sora, Riku, & Kairi.

"Xemnas could never balance the Organization's check book to save his own existence, so he had Luxord handle all of our finances." Roxas said as Luxord swelled up with pride…he liked…nay loved his job.

"My other was Ludro, Ansem the Wise's personal accountant..." Luxord said as he shrugged, "…I suppose I owe it to him to help out his son at least…Ok I'm in."

"Just tell Rufus that we sent you…and it may not hurt to tell them who your others were." Sora advised as Xigbar opened a black portal.

"Will do…be a good boy now you guys…and girl! I've got to get a new eye." Xigbar said as he walked through the portal.

"Or just open the one you still have…" Luxord said as soon as the Freeshooter was through the portal, "Farewell young ones, and good luck!" he said as he backed into the portal, which closed a few seconds after.

"Well…" Auron said after a long pause, "I guess I should be going."

"Do you even have a place to go?" Kairi asked as the guardian turned to leave.

"No." He replied

"Well…since Hades is gone, you could work here." Hercules offered.

"Thanks but, I'm no hero…besides, I'm not after fame and glory." Auron said as he declined the demigod's offer.

"Unless…" Auron said as he turned to Sora. "…you need a guardian now?"

"What exactly is a guardian?" Roxas asked curiously.

"In my world, a guardian is someone who escorts a grand summoner to the ruins of a city called Zanarkand, to destroy a giant monster called Sin. Sin is dead now, and Guardians are no longer needed, for that purpose…" Auron said as he looked at the Keyblade master, "…which is possibly why fate decided to have me revived…so that I could guard you."

"Well…" Sora thought about it, "…I'm all for it, but I'm going to let my friends to decide."

"If Sora's for it, I'm for it." Kairi said instantly

"Do you have to even ask me?" Roxas said as he voiced his approval

"I'm cool with it." Riku said.

"Zexion, what about you?" Sora asked.

"It will be nice to have someone older and wiser to talk to…no offence guys." Zexion said.

"None taken." Sora replied

"Hey what about Namine?" Roxas asked.

Suddenly a white sphere of energy appeared in front of them, and after a while, Namine's image appeared from within.

"Hey guys check it out! I activated the gummy ship's long range communicator..." Namine said. Her head then turned towards Auron.

"Oh and I'm in favor of Auron joining us." Namine said with a smile.

"Great then it's decided." Kairi said giving a smile to the stoic guardian, who gave a faint smile back. Then Namine spoke up again.

"Hey I think I just got through to Radiant Garden…I'm beaming you six aboard as we speak, stand by." Namine said as she fiddled with some controls.

"Well goodbye Hercules." Sora said quickly.

"Goodbye Sora and good…" they vanished, "…Luck."

* * *

**Radiant Garden**

In Ansem's study Xigbar and Luxord were being heartily welcomed into the Restoration Committee, when a white glowing sphere appeared…and all the nobodies looked at Demyx.

"Hey don't look at me I didn't make the bubble." The Nocturne said as Sora's face appeared inside.

"Is this thing on? Testing 1…2…3…" "We can both see and hear you Sora, glad to hear from you." Leon said as Sora's image cleared up.

"Hey guys, how are things going with the Restoration effort?" Sora asked hopefully.

"They're going fine, but Luxord and Xigbar say that you have Zexion with you." Rufus said quickly

"Uh…yeah. Why, do you need to talk to him?" Sora asked confused.

"Its urgent that we speak to him…Xigbar doesn't know the passwords we need." Rufus said frustrated

"Passwords? Passwords to what?" Sora asked back even more confused

"The Room of Sleep." Leon answered, and immediately Zexion shoved Sora out of the screen.

"The Room of Sleep? Why in the worlds would you want to go there?" Zexion asked surprised.

"Because it may hold some of the Organization's secrets." Leon said as Namine could be heard shouting on the other end.

"I'm losing the connection guys, speak fast." Zexion immediately snapped to it.

"All right, clockwise from the top, the passwords are the…" the sphere filled with static and then popped, greatly annoying everyone in the room in the process.

"Oh great, we still don't know the passwords." Larxene moaned

"Yeah but look at it this way number twelve, at least you and your other can behold the mighty nail gun skills of the Freeshooter." Xigbar said as he tried to woe the Nobody and her other.

"OH PLEASE!" the two said in unison despairingly, and as they turned to leave Larxene quickly spun back around and punched Xigbar straight into the air with her fist cracking from the electricity.

Xigbar landed on the ground with a thump, with a very goofy look on his face.

"I've wanted to do that for years." Larxene said with a laugh as she walked out the door.

* * *

**Gummy ship**

Meanwhile, Zexion disparaged that he was unable to tell the Restoration committee the passwords, but Sora came over and comforted the disappointed nobody.

"Hey the next time we go to Radiant Garden, you can put the passwords in yourself." "Thanks, I actually prefer it…" Zexion said as he smiled, "…then I can see what's in there first hand."

"That's the spirit Zexion." Kairi encouraged.

"So where to next?" Riku asked.

"Well…" Roxas chimed in "…would you mind if we went to Twilight Town?"

"Yeah, I wonder how Hayner, Pence, and Olette are doing." Kairi said as Sora sat back down in his seat.

"Yeah, let's go check on them." Sora said as Riku cleared his throat.

"What?" Sora asked his best friend confused.

"Uh do we get a vote?" Riku asked impatiently

"Hey I'm all for Twilight Town, I've wanted to try that fabled 'sea-salt' ice cream that Roxas kept going on and on about." Zexion said.

"I've been stuck in the underworld for so long I can't remember…" Auron said in his traditional stoic manner, "…But you are my charge, and you call the shots…where you go…I go."

"Then it's settled, we're off to Twilight Town." Sora said as Riku reluctantly punched in the coordinates and the Gummy ship tore off into space.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

"…so, Zexion received my present." Xaldin laughed as he pulled back his hood.

"Yeah, and he wasn't too thrilled with it either." The newly reborn Lexaeus said as he reported in on his mission to Olympus Coliseum.

"But the brat still lives." The Chilly Academic, Vexen said as he removed his hood.

"The only reason he's still alive, Vexen, is because of his friend…Riku…otherwise he would be dead by now…and by my hands too." A figure from the shadows said angrily.

"Easy brother, we both lost to him, but we will have our revenge soon enough." Another figure said calmly.

Saix who had been watching Sora and his companions through the sphere of energy on the table turned towards the direction of the last voice.

"My lord, I believe I may know how to break the Keybearer's will." The Luna Diviner said emotionless

From within the shadows the dark figure smiled evilly.

"Proceeded Saix…and have a little fun with it." He said sinisterly.

"Do you mind if I observe?" Sephiroth said from the shadows.

"I prefer it." Saix said with a sinister smile as he opened a black portal and the two stepped through.

* * *

**End Chapter 12.**

Me: Sounds like things are about to heat up a bit in Twilight Town, stay tuned for more.

Roxas: Why do you not want to go to Twilight Town Riku?

Me: Don't answer that question Riku, otherwise it's a spoiler for the next chapter.

Riku: (arching an eyebrow) Ok.

Me: As usuall, please Review folks.

Axel: …and flame at your own risk, Got it Memorized?

Me: Yes we do Axel.


	13. Twilight Town part 1

Me: Again going straight into it…Beginning Chapter Roxas.

Roxas: Huh?

Me: (sigh) Roxas what number are you?

Roxas: number 13…oh I get it.

Me: good. (Starts chapter 13)

* * *

Our heroes appear outside the Twilight Town train station in the familiar bright light from the gummy ship teleporters. This time Namine had joined them, leaving the gummy ship on auto-pilot, despite Riku's requests to let him stay with the ship, which left him in something of an emo mode.

Immediately Roxas & Namine ran towards the railing that overlooked the city. It was exactly the way they remembered it.

"Would you look at this Namine…it feels as if I haven't been here in ages, but I know that the last time I was here was when Sora was last here." Roxas said as he turned towards his other.

"Come on Roxas…I want to try that sea-salt ice cream of yours." Zexion said as Auron looked around with a furrowed brow.

Deep down inside, the Guardian could since darkness nearby, but where it was coming from was unknown to him. He had already grown used to the residual darkness from Riku, but this was different, so he made sure his sword was close to him and fell in with the group as they headed into town.

"I can't wait to see Hayner, Pence, and Olette, again." Roxas said as Sora stopped dead in his tracks.

"Sora?" "Roxas …they won't know you…in the fake Twilight Town yes, but in the real one…" Sora explained as Roxas lowered his head in understanding.

Then Riku remembered something.

"Sora, the photo!!" "Huh?" "The photo I gave you in Hollow Bastion, remember…It was in a white cardboard box with a single stick of sea-salt ice cream in it."

Sora quickly fished in his pocket and pulled out the fake Olette's change purse. As he searched through it Roxas went wide eyed at its contents; 5000 munny, a blue crystal orb, and a folded up piece of paper. Roxas then gave Riku a filthy look.

"What?" "YOU!!" "What about me?" "You're the one who ruined our trip to the beach!" Roxas said referring to when Riku, while in disguise as Ansem's heartless, stole the munny pouch during Roxas's time in the virtual Twilight Town.

Riku realized what he was talking about.

"Oh that…Sorry Roxas, but DiZ…I mean Ansem, didn't have time to add the beach to the program, so we couldn't let you leave with them." Riku explained as Roxas understood and calmed down.

"It's ok…I didn't know." Roxas said as Sora silently unfolded the paper in his hands, revealing it to be a photograph.

"Well…here's something to remember them by." Sora said as he handed Roxas the photo.

It was the photo of the virtual, Hayner, Pence, and Olette, with Roxas, in front of the abandoned mansion outside of town. Roxas smiled and pocketed the photo.

"If I had a heart right now Sora…It would be glowing." Roxas said as Zexion stopped and pointed.

"Say aren't those the kids from that picture?" Everyone turned and looked and sure enough they spotted Hayner, Pence, and Olette emerging from the alley way that led to the Secret Spot. Sora, Kairi, and Roxas ran towards them.

"Hayner!!" shouted Sora

"Pence!!" shouted Roxas

"Olette!!" shouted Kairi

The three turned around to see Roxas come to a dead stop as the other two kept on going.

From at the top of the hill Namine, Zexion, and even Auron smiled. Riku on the other hand remained in emo mode.

"Sora…Kairi!!" the three shouted as they rushed to greet them.

"How have you two been?" Hayner asked eagerly.

"We haven't seen or heard from you two since that whole virtual town thing." Pence said with a shrug.

"Yeah…" Olette said but before she could say anything else, she, along with Hayner and Pence, noticed Roxas.

"You look familiar somehow." Hayner said as he scratched the back of his head.

"Who me…aw I'm just a nobody. I MEAN!! I'm nobody important" Roxas said as he tried to hide the fact he was a nobody, but failed.

"Another nobody?!" Pence said as he hid behind Hayner who drew his struggle bat, which made Roxas more even downtrodden, and Auron reach for his sword, only to be stopped by Zexion, who shook his head.

"Hayner wait!!" Sora said as he turned to Roxas. "Roxas the photo."

Apparently the name Roxas rung in their ears as the latter pulled out the photo he had pocketed earlier.

"What did he just call you?" Olette asked.

"My name…is Roxas." The nobody said as he handed them the slightly crumpled photo.

The three looked at the photo for a moment then it clicked.

"Whoa you're the guy from the fake Twilight Town…you really exist!!" Pence said as the three looked at Roxas with a stunned expression on their faces, while Roxas smiled.

Sora looked up at the remaining party members, and nodded to them to come down. They complied.

"Say, why don't we go where we can talk about this…like the secret spot…oops." Roxas suggested before clamping his mouth shut.

The three looked at him funny again, as Sora and Kairi both gave a reassuring nod.

"Okay, let's head in then." Hayner said cautiously.

"Hold on, what about our friends?" Kairi asked as, said friends walked up behind her.

"Oh boy." Pence said as he saw Auron.

"Don't worry, their harmless…to you guys at least." Sora said as he attempted to reassure them.

"The big guy is Auron, he's my guardian." Sora said as said guardian bowed in respect.

"…this is Zexion…" "Pleasure." "…My best friend Riku…" "(Still in emo mode) Hey." Sora arched an eyebrow at him for a moment before moving on.

"…and this is Roxas's girlfriend, Namine." Sora said as the blond smiled and nodded in acknowledgement and the Twilight trio gave a series of hearty greetings to them in return.

"Ok people follow us." Hayner said as they turned towards the alley way.

"Say, Sora, you mind if I take Zexion and Auron to get Ice cream, while you seven talk?" Riku asked as they started to head in.

"Why?" "I really don't feel like a happy-go-lucky reunion right now." Riku said without making eye contact.

"What's with you today Riku?" Sora asked his friend.

"It's the town Sora…I spent a whole year, stuck, in this town, while you Donald, and Goofy slept…do you know how much there is to do around here?" Riku asked getting increasingly annoyed,

"…Nothing…absolutely nothing, does that answer your question?!" Riku yelled then looked at his friend's shocked expression and lowered his head.

"I'm sorry Sora…I…I just need something to do is all." Riku said as Sora shrugged and put his hand on Riku's shoulder.

"It's ok, go and get Zexion some ice-cream, who knows it may make you feel better to get out and meet some new people." Sora said with a smile, which Riku returned.

"Maybe your right, Ok Zexion, you want ice-cream, you got it." Riku said as a mellowed Zexion followed him.

Auron then knelt down to Sora's level.

"Keep an eye on him will you Auron?" Sora asked.

"Two eyes, as often as I can spare them." Auron said as he stood up and followed the two.

* * *

But not that far away, in the abandoned mansion, two dark figures watched from a dark glowing sphere, as Sora, Kairi, Roxas, and Namine, explained to the Twilight Trio, all about who Roxas and Namine were.

"Lexaeus never said anything about a man with a broadsword with him…is that the one you have been searching for?" the Luna Diviner asked the One Winged Angel.

"No, he must have joined them very recently…but no matter, I will deal with him when the time comes." Sephiroth said as he continued to stare at the purple sphere which now showed Riku, Zexion, and Auron, all eating ice-cream.

"Hmm…" Saix, said as he observed Riku closely and then switched to a close up of Riku, "…I think this one may just lead us to the bait we need, to set our trap."

"Indeed." Sephiroth smiled as the two continued to watch.

* * *

"Wow…Roxas was right…this stuff is good…" Zexion said as he continued to eat his ice-cream.

"I must confess, it is enjoyable." Auron said as he ate his.

"I'm just glad they came out with some new flavors…I can't stand the basic." Riku said as he ate an orange colored ice cream stick.

"Ansem loved this stuff, whenever he wasn't in the computer room, he was in the kitchen eating one of these." Riku explained as the trio passed by the hole in the wall that lead towards the old mansion. Auron looked through the hole, he could sense that it lead to the darkness that he sensed, but he remained silent and the group moved on.

The trio entered the sandlot and had finished their ice cream by that point and noticed a pair of teenagers, one of them roughly Riku's age, battling each other with a pair of blue foam bats.

"What are they doing?" Zexion asked confused.

"Their struggling, it's one of the town's most popular sports…if not the most popular sport.

"But how does it work?" Zexion asked, as he and Riku sat on a wooden bench while Auron simply stood and watched, while Riku explained how the game worked…and the fact he recognized both of the combatants.

"The big one is Rai, or Rajin, the one with the ski cap is his…I want to say boss…Seifer." Riku explained as he noticed a short boy wearing a large overcoat, green and yellow striped pants, and a strange looking hat…Riku groaned as he remembered several unpleasant memories with that character's program.

"That…" Riku said as he pointed to the boy, "…is Vivi, Ansem had the worst time with his program, the cursed thing kept glitching, and you never knew what it would do." Riku said as Seifer took notice of the white haired boy saying something in discernable about his gang, and stopped his match with Rai, right there and then.

"Hey white hair!!" Seifer said as Riku turned his attention to the teenager.

"Yes?" "You got something against me or the Disciplinary Committee?" Seifer asked while Riku calmly stood up.

"No, I've just heard a lot about you is all…like you can't even beat a kid with spiky hair." Riku said with a smirk as he referenced the fact that Sora (and technically Roxas) soundly defeated him several times without losing a single match. This angered the teen.

"Seifer could wipe the floor with you ya' know?" Rai said as Seifer reached for a pair of Struggle bats.

"Ok…I'll play your game, how do you know about that kid?" Seifer asked holding the bats at his side.

"Because he happens to be my best friend…and he's in town right now." Riku smirked as Seifer held out one of the bats.

"Ok, then let's see you put your money where your mouth is." Seifer challenged as Riku accepted.

The two went into the center of the sandlot.

"Ok, this is just straight dueling, first one unarmed looses." Seifer declared as Riku nodded, and the duel began.

Obviously Riku was the superior swordsman as he proceeded to soundly defeat the blond, without taking a single hit. As Riku knocked the bat out of Seifer's hand he held the bat directly under his (Seifer's) chin.

"Yield." Riku said mere seconds before a female voice shouted…

"VENGENCE!!" suddenly Riku felt a pain in his side and himself fly straight out of the ring towards Auron who caught the flying teen with one arm.

"FUJIN!! We were struggling; you don't just run in and knock the guy out!!" Seifer yelled at an unseen figure as Riku, who had just recovered, turned to look…what he saw made his jaw drop.

He saw a very pale skinned girl with hair as white as his own, wearing a dark blue sleeveless jacket with Capri pants and light purple croc shoes (Me: Those rubber shoes that everyone says are very comfortable)

Riku was speechless…but he didn't know why. She walked over to Riku with a slightly remorseful look on her face, looked at him and paused as her jaw dropped and her expression was the same as Riku's. They stared at each other for a moment, with their friends looking at them with confused expressions.

He then noticed that her eyes were a deep red.

"Uh…hi." Riku finally managed to say. "…Hi" she said in return.

"Uh…my name's Riku…what's yours?" Riku said as he began to get braver.

"Fujin." She said.

"…But we call her Fuu." Seifer added.

"Ok then…Fuu…uh…" Riku tried to come up with something to say but he was very nervous in front of the albino…but why he was nervous he couldn't figure out.

"Apologies." she said finally, as Zexion furrowed his brow trying to figure out what she meant, but Riku knew exactly what she meant.

"You don't have to apologize, I kind of needed a kick in the side today…really I did, just ask my friend Sora." Riku said with a smile as Fuu moved as if she stifled a laugh.

"Funny." She said, again getting a confused look from Zexion.

"You think I'm funny?" Riku asked disbelievingly.

"Yes." Fuu smiled. Suddenly a strange chorus of "kissy" noises erupted from nearby as the two turned bright red (Riku from anger, and Fuu from embarrassment.). The Riku then turned with a snarl to see Sora, Roxas, Hayner, and Pence all making kissy noises at the two while Kairi, Namine, and Olette just tried to pretend that they didn't know the boys.

"Why I ought a!!" Riku yelled as he summoned "Way to Dawn," and charged at them. He was mad as a hornet.

"Uh oh." Sora said as the four soon-to-be-dead boys stopped making the noises and bolted as soon as "Way to Dawn" appeared.

"Well it's been fun." Zexion said as he and Auron started to head towards the train station.

"I better go make sure he doesn't kill them" Auron said in his stoic and emotionless tone.

"We better be going anyway, we'll see you around Olette." Kairi said as she and Namine turned to leave.

Olette bid farewell to the two girls, as Seifer walked around to look at Fuu's face. She was still blushing.

"Fuu?" Silence. "Fuu snap out of it." Seifer said as he snapped his fingers in front of her face, which brought her around.

"What?" she jumped.

"You were staring off into space ya' know." Rai said as Fuu quickly shook her head to try and clear her head. She then turned and looked up but before she could say anything her eyes widened.

The Seifer and Rai looked behind them and paled at what they saw, a massive dark portal had opened behind them and before they could turn around fast enough five berserker nobodies appeared in front of the entrance and a hooded figure along with a tall silver haired man with a single large black wing and carrying a very long katana emerged from the portal.

"Take them…" The hooded man said to the nobodies "…But leave that one." He said as he pointed to Olette who hadn't moved from her spot since Kairi and Namine had run off after Riku.

The nobodies complied as they suddenly vanished leaving only their large possessed hammers which started bouncing up and down towards, Seifer, Rai, Fuu, and Vivi, forcing them towards the portal.

"You won't get away with this!!" Seifer yelled at the hooded figure who didn't reply.

The portal closed as the hooded figure, silver haired man, and the Disciplinary Committee had passed through it, leaving a very frightened Olette.

"Oh…what to do? What to do?" Olette asked herself as she panicked. Then she remembered Sora and the gang.

"Oh I hope I can catch them!!" she said to herself, as she ran as fast as she could towards the train station, praying that she wasn't too late to catch them.

* * *

**End Chapter Roxas…I mean 13.**

Me: What will happen to the Disciplinary Committee? Will Olette reach our heroes in time? Find out in chapter 14.

Larxene: Flame at your own risk!!


	14. Twilight Town part 2

Me: Once again we are going straight in…beginning chapter 14…brace yourself it's a long one.

* * *

"Did we lose him?" Hayner asked as they stopped to catch their breath.

"I don't know let me check." Roxas said as he peeked around the corner and came face to face with Zexion.

"GAH!! Zexion?! What are you trying to do give me a heart attack?" Roxas said not noticing the irony of his statement until Sora started laughing.

"Relax, you guys and take a look." Zexion said as he opened the Lexicon which revealed Riku miniaturized and pressed between the pages.

"This is so embarrassing." Riku said in a chipmunk voice. Zexion shook the book face down, and Riku returned to normal size.

The four boys backed up as if they were going to run again but Riku just shrugged.

"Relax guys I don't get angry…" Riku said as the guys took a sigh of relief, "…I get even." Riku said with a sinister smile as Sora and Roxas realized that they would be traveling the most with him and that they would never know when he would strike.

"Hey look, we're back at the train station." Roxas said as they looked around and sure enough they were.

About that time Auron, Kairi, and Namine caught up with the boys.

"Well guys I guess we better go…we have to keep searching for the others of Organization XIII." Sora said as Hayner and Pence lowered their heads slightly, sorry to see their friends depart.

"Ok, but at least wait until Olette gets here." Hayner said as Pence furrowed his brow.

"Where is Olette anyway?" he asked and a few seconds later, right on cue, Olette came bolting out of the underground walk way, white as a sheet and babbling something about nobodies.

She was babbling like mad, Zexion leaned over to Riku and whispered sarcastically…

"Hey you speak cryptic can you translate?"Riku responded by elbowing the nobody in the stomach.

"Olette…OLETTE!! Calm down…take a deep breath and say it slowly." Hayner said as he shook the frightened girl.

"Seifer (pant pant) gang (pant) big nobodies (pant) black hole (pant pant) hooded figure, silver haired, man…big wing…long sword." Olette said as everyone immediately figured out what had happened.

"Seifer and his gang have been kidnapped?!" Sora said with wide eyes.

"And by Sephiroth no less…" Roxas added as the Twilight trio looked at them with a look of panic and confusion.

"Who?" "Sephiroth…a real bad guy…he's incredibly dangerous." Sora explained as Auron looked towards the hill where the abandoned mansion was located.

"We have to save them." Riku said as he could only imagine what horrors Fuu could be suffering at Sephiroth's hands.

"Yeah but where did they take them?" Roxas asked.

"I know where..." Auron said as the group turned to him.

"Where?" Kairi asked as Sora, Riku, and Roxas knew exactly where he was referring to.

"The old mansion!!" the three said in unison as Auron nodded.

"Namine…will you get Hayner, Pence, and Olette on the gummy ship…" Riku asked of the nobody, "…and wait for our signal, we may need to get out of here in a hurry when this hits the fan."

"You got it Riku." Namine said as she activated the gummy ship's remote teleporters and beamed herself and the Twilight trio onto the gummy ship.

The six warriors of light gathered around and drew/summoned their weapons.

"Let's do this." Riku said as the group ran towards the tunnel system.

* * *

Fuu looked around; all she could see was darkness. Then a mysterious voice spoke.

"_You…have been chosen."_

"Hello?"

"_Your heart is strong… as is your will"_

"Hello?!"

"_You fear nothing of what lies ahead, no matter how dark or how bright."_

"REVEAL YOURSELF!!"

When the voice said "Bright" a light appeared beneath her feet, which gradually grew into a stained glass image of the "Way to Dawn" Keyblade…she had entered the Station of Awakening

"_Choose your path…shall you face danger without fear?"_

A door appeared from the floor, and the voice spoke again.

"_Before you lies the door…once beyond…there is no turning back."_

Fuu swallowed her fear and walked head held high towards the door. She took a deep breath and cautiously opened the door and stepped through. As she did a bright light enveloped her…

* * *

"Fuu…Fuu wake up…come on Fuu." Seifer begged as he shook the girl's body, but to no avail. They had been taken to a large square room, with no windows and a single white door, the floor was littered with debris.

Seifer leaned over her as he opened her right eyelid. Her eyes were moving around erratically.

"She's…dreaming." Seifer said as he turned to Rai and Vivi who were trying like mad to break down the door.

But every time they put a dent in the door, the door would repair itself.

"This door is whacked out ya' know." Rai said as he turned to Seifer who took one last look at the slumbering Fuu, then got up and headed towards the other two.

"There's got to be some other way out of here." He said as he looked around, but alas found none.

* * *

"This is it…the old mansion." Roxas said as the group came to a halt outside the mansion gates.

"Look the gate's locked." Zexion said as he pointed at a large black lock on the gate.

Riku gave no expression; he just summoned his Keyblade and pointed it at the keyhole in the lock.

The Keyblade shimmered with energy as a blue circle formed around the end of it and a blue beam shot out and hit the lock, which glowed with energy and the mechanical sound of a lock opening was heard as the lock vanished in a burst of light.

Zexion and Kairi were impressed…neither of them had seen the Keyblade used as an actual key before.

"Well…what are you waiting for…an invitation, let's go!!" Riku said as he passed through the gate.

The rest of the group straightened up and followed Riku in, with their weapons ready…but as soon as they cleared the gate, they heard it slam shut, and the lock re-appear.

"I have a very bad feeling about this." Sora said as the doors to the mansion suddenly flung open and a powerful force pulled them all in.

As the heroes clamored to their feet, they heard a familiar yet calm voice speak.

"Welcome…we have been expecting you." The Luna Diviner appeared on the balcony before them.

"SAIX!!" Roxas and Zexion yelled as the blue haired nobody smiled.

"I'm sure some of you have met my partner, but for those who haven't allow me to introduce him to you." Saix said as he stretched out a hand towards the ceiling and the One Winged Angel slowly descended, with Masamune in hand.

"Good to see you…Sora." Sephiroth said as he landed and pointed his sword at the Keyblade master.

* * *

As the light faded, Fuu looked around and saw that the stained glass image on the floor had changed to an image of another Keyblade, but this one was different, it was a single white angel wing with a purple and red dragon's wing for the "tooth." It was like a mirror image of the "Way to Dawn" Keyblade.

"_You have taken your first steps. Now you must choose your path."_

Two figures appeared on opposite sides of the platform, one was Seifer the other was Riku.

"_One represents the way to light; the other represents the way to darkness. One will lead you through darkness to the light and the other will take you directly to darkness with no light on the horizon…be wary of those you call… friend."_

Fuu felt torn, she initially started to walk towards Seifer, but something within her told her to turn back.

"That's it Fuu, come to your friend" the Seifer image said.

Fuu suddenly realized what the voice meant and she turned around and walked towards Riku.

"Fuu…where are you going? I thought you were my friend?" Seifer said as she turned to face Seifer while standing with a silent Riku.

"Fujin, come to me…I command you!!" Seifer said angrily and his arm stretched in humanly long towards her, but it was blocked by "Way to Dawn."

Seifer started screaming Fuu's name out as he dissolved into darkness.

Fuu turned towards Riku who smiled, and vanished in a flash of light.

"_You have proven to yourself that you can discern dark from light. Now you shall receive that which has chosen you."_

Another door appeared, and Fuu fearlessly walked forward and opened the door, and again was enveloped in light.

* * *

Auron walked forward towards the dark Angel.

"So…you're the darkness that I sensed." The guardian said as Sephiroth pointed the Masamune at Auron who didn't even blink.

"There is no fear within you…this shall be interesting."

"Indeed it shall my friend…indeed…it…SHALL!!" Saix shouted as his claymore appeared behind him and extended its hidden blades.

With a look of total rage on his face, Saix grabbed the claymore and charged at the Keyblade master.

Auron, quick as a flash knocked the Masamune out of his face with his sword as he and Sephiroth proceeded to battle.

Sora, Riku, and Kairi leapt into action as they began to battle the Luna Diviner.

Zexion grabbed Roxas's arm before he could enter into either battle.

"Looks like we have problems of our own Roxas…" Zexion said as five berserkers appeared in front of a plain white door, blocked by debris.

"We have to find Seifer and the gang!!" Roxas said as Zexion vanished into thin air.

Suddenly a Zexion reappeared over the nobodies and began a limit break known as "Book Wyrm."

He held his lexicon downwards towards the berserkers as it began to glow a bright purple. Suddenly a loud roar was heard as a large purple worm like beast flew out of the book and destroyed the berserkers before vanishing.

Zexion landed on the ground and held the open lexicon out in front of him with both hands. It suddenly started to float and pages started to turn all on their own.

"MAY CLOUDS OF DECEPTION REVEAL THE LIGHT…MAY NOTHING ESCAPE MY SIGHT!!" Zexion chanted as the lexicon produced a glowing sphere of light.

Zexion looked at it a moment before turning and looked at the door behind him.

"They're in here!!" Zexion shouted as Roxas knocked a small swarm of Dusks and creepers out of the way and charged towards the door.

Meanwhile…

Sora entered Wisdom form and began firing countless blue bolts at the enraged nobody as he continued to dodge strike after strike from said nobody's claymore.

Kairi had entered Valor form, and with the Blaster Edge Keyblade in her off-hand as she charged the nobody. But as she got close enough to strike, she was knocked away and towards a window that lead into a courtyard by a ferocious swing from the claymore.

"KAIRI!!" Sora and Riku yelled as the princess of heart flew through the glass feet first but spun just enough that she slid head first and was knocked out cold by a stone fountain.

Sora charged the Nobody as he switched into Final Form and started slashing madly at Saix.

Saix dodged or blocked the attacks and knocked Sora through the door to the white second story room where Namine had been prior to the start of his second journey.

Sora hit the wall hard and was also knocked unconscious.

"So Riku…it is now just the two of us." Saix smirked as Riku dove towards him, attacking furiously.

But Saix got the upper hand and pinned Riku against a wall near the window that Kairi was knocked through.

"Now, Riku, you shall taste the darkness of death." Saix said as he raised the claymore.

But just as Saix was about to deliver the killing blow, the white door shattered, and as Saix turned to look…

* * *

As the light faded Fuu opened her eyes.

The stained glass window had again changed to that of the strange Keyblade from the previous room crossed with the "Way to Dawn" like an X.

"_You are ready…now your first challenge awaits…"_

Fuu stood in the center, and when the voice said "awaits" a bright light appeared in her right hand…

"_NOW…YOU ARE WHOLE!!"_

The light enveloped her, but when it subsided she found herself within their prison within the old mansion. Seifer, Rai, and Vivi were yelling to someone on the other side that the door wouldn't open.

Fuu looked at the door and noticed a spot in the center of the door that looked like a keyhole, the bright light appeared in her hand for a split second. She looked down and smiled at what was in it.

She then heard a voice from the other side say…

"Now, Riku, you shall taste the darkness of death."

Fuu's eyes widened as she jumped up.

"STAND BACK!!" she yelled as her friends looked at her and quickly jumped out of the way.

"FUU?! What's that in your hand?!" Seifer asked stunned as the door shattered from a beam of blue light that hit the keyhole and Fuu raced out of the room, and saw Riku pinned against the wall about to be killed by a blue haired man with an X shaped scar across his face, wielding a massive sword.

She charged the blue haired man and as he turned to look, he cried out in pain as Fuu stabbed him through the waist and he quickly became blurry and started to fade into the darkness.

"How…is...this…possible?" Saix said as he then threw his head back and screamed as he faded away, taking his claymore with him.

Riku looked at Fuu in amazement as he saw what she held in her hand.

It was a Keyblade…the same one that she had seen within the Station of Awakening.

As Sephiroth and Auron continued to battle, Sephiroth saw Saix dissolve, and smirked as he knocked the guardian away.

He then saw Sora and Kairi fly out from where they were knocked away, and as Roxas and Zexion turned defeated the last of the attacking nobodies.

"It would seem that I should depart." Sephiroth said as he raised his hand and looked towards the heroes.

"Be sure to give Cloud my regards." He said with a smirk and vanished a split second before Auron's sword crashed into the floor with a loud clang, where the One Winged Angel once stood, the heroes were victorious.

* * *

**Later, outside the mansion.**

The group hadn't stopped to ask questions they just wanted to get out of there. When they finally reached the outside they noticed the gate was wide open, the lock gone, and the Gummy ship hovering outside the gate.

Everyone including the Disciplinary Committee ran straight into the blue boarding beam underneath the gummy ship, and the ship tore off into space.

On board the gummy ship, Hayner, Pence, and Olette were jumping up and down with joy to see both the heroes and the disciplinary committee alive and well. Riku turned to Fuu who was examining her new Keyblade.

"Where did you get that?!" Riku asked as he sat down next to her.

"Unknown." She whispered.

"It looks kind of like mine…it's called Way to Dawn…do you know what yours is?" Riku said as he summoned his Keyblade.

Fuu thought for a moment, and finally said…

"Way to Dusk." She said as Riku noticed that it had a keychain, signaling that was a genuine Keyblade…the keychain was a single white wing, as opposed to his purple and red Dragon wing  
(Me: I'm changing his keychain for the sake of the story so don't flame for canonacy.)

"Wait did you just say it was called Way to Dusk?" Sora said as he overheard her response.

"You've heard of it Sora?" Riku asked as Sora nodded.

"Yeah…it's your Keyblades opposite." Sora said, receiving strange looks from the two white haired teenagers. Sora was about to continue when Zexion walked up with his Lexicon open and flipped through the pages, as if looking for something.

"It's kind of like having a Keyblade with a twin." Zexion said, still flipping through the pages. "Ah here it is." He said as he turned the book around so they could see.

The page had a picture of Way to Dawn and Way to Dusk crossed in an X, just like in the Station of Awakening.

"They say that when two people wield a pair of opposite Keyblades…their destiny's become intertwined." Zexion said as Riku and Fuu looked at each other with intrigue.

"Oh come on…Fuu and that guy?!" Seifer said as Fuu shot him a filthy look.

"Would you like us to drop you off back at Twilight Town now Seifer?" Sora asked as the blond teen took a step back.

"No way man…not with those freaks showing up all the time…I'm not going back to that town again." Seifer said as Roxas, Zexion, and Namine gave him filthy looks.

"What?" Seifer asked.

"We are some of those 'freaks' that you were talking about…and we're called Nobodies." Roxas said as he held Oblivion to his (Seifer's) chin.

"What about you guys?" Sora asked Rai and Vivi.

"I'm sticking with Seifer ya' know." Rai said as Vivi nodded in agreement.

"What about you three?" Roxas asked the Twilight Trio.

"I'm a little scared to go back there myself personally." Pence said.

"I don't think I will ever forget how frightened I was when those nobodies appeared…so I'm not going back." Olette said as she held herself as a shiver went down her spine.

"I better stick with these guys." Hayner said. The look on his face was proof enough that he was scared too.

"Well we better head to Radiant Garden then…if anything to drop you guys off." Riku said as he headed over to the navigation system and selected the coordinates from a computer screen.

"Yeah...say you guys could lend a hand with restoring the city." Sora said as Seifer, Hayner, and their respective groups, including Fuu, huddled together for a moment.

After a while…"So far only Olette, Vivi, and Rai are in…" Seifer said as Roxas knew exactly how to get Hayner and Pence in on the act.

"They have a sea-salt ice cream shop." Roxas said as the two looked at each other.

"We're in…" they said in unison.

"It's down to you and Fuu now Seifer." Kairi said as the blond thought for a moment and turned to the albino.

"What about you Fuu?" Seifer asked, thinking she would say no…surprisingly.

"Stay." Riku and Seifer looked at her with shocked expressions, they knew what she meant but the others didn't.

"You want to stay with them?!" Seifer asked as the rest of the group (minus Auron) looked at her surprised, she then looked at Riku for a moment then back at Seifer.

"Yes." She smiled as Riku smiled and Sora, Roxas, Hayner, and Pence resisted the urge to make more kissy noises.

Feeling alone, Seifer finally caved.

"Fine…I'll help." He said.

"Great when we get there I can talk to Leon, he'll know…"Sora said as Seifer interrupted.

"Wait...did you say Leon? As in Leon Squallblade?" Seifer asked as Sora nodded.

Seifer smirked. "I know him, see this scar…" He said as he pointed out the large scar across his face.

"Now that you mention it Leon has a scar exactly like it." Kairi said as Seifer continued.

"Yeah…Leon…or Squall as he was known then, gave this to me, and I gave him his…" Seifer explained.

"The creep stole the Hyperion from me." Seifer said crossing his arms.

"The what?" Riku asked.

"You know how Leon has that sword that's both a gun and a sword rolled into one?"

"The Gunblade?" Roxas asked.

"That's it…well the Hyperion was my Gunblade…I had one a long time ago, he said I was too young to have it, so he took it from me…after I gave him that scar that is…haven't seen or heard from him since." Seifer said in a pout.

"Well you will definitely be seeing him soon…" Namine said from the pilot's seat "…because we're here." They all looked out the window and sure enough there was Radiant Garden.

"Stand by for landing." Namine said as everyone strapped themselves down as they flew towards the castle.

* * *

End Chapter 14

Me: (collapses) my fingers are aching…that's a lot of typing.

Axel: Yeah…I'm amazed that you even have fingers left.

Me: I'm leaving it to Zexion to write the usual post-chapter jargon this time.

Larxene: Why Zexion?

Zexion: Because I'm not liable to short out or destroy the computer.

Me: (Crashing) and he can type better.

All: Oh.

Zexion: Please review, and flame at your own risk.

Axel: Got it Memorized yet?


	15. Opening the Room of Sleep

Me: My friend asked me another question that needs answering…If the Nobody's names are supposed to be anagrams of their other's names…then why isn't Saix, Axel, Demyx, Marluxia, and Larxene's names anagrams? I will answer the question in this chapter so don't fret.

Remember this is as it applies to the story and is not to be considered canon.

Sora: So shall we begin?

Me: Why yes…lets.

* * *

The Gummy ship landed on a brand new landing platform that had been added on to a balcony.

"Wow who added this on?" Roxas asked as everyone on board disembarked.

"That would be us good buddy." Axel said as most of the restoration committee came out to greet them.

"Whoa you guys work quick." Sora said as he looked around in amazement.

"It's amazing what you can do when (ahem) motivated properly" Larxene said with a sinister smirk that Zexion and Roxas took a step back from.

Leon turned to Yuffie and nodded. The ninja then proceeded to walk forward. (Me: She's in her Dirge of Cerberus costume now)

"On behalf of the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee, I bid you Welcome" Yuffie said to the newcomers as Seifer stomped towards Leon who drew his Gunblade.

"Seifer…we meet again at last." Leon said as the teenager glared at him

"Give me Hyperion back Squall!" Seifer demanded.

"It's Leon now…and I think you've grown enough…so ok. It's yours." Leon said as he revealed a shorter and slightly different Gunblade and held it towards Seifer who holstered it as soon as he got it.

Vincent and Xigbar held on to their weapons as they were afraid the teenager would try to put a shot through the older man.

Yuna and Rikku gaped at Auron in amazement.

"AURON?!" they said as a smile grew on the guardian's face…he wasn't just smiling he was beaming.

The two ran towards him and quickly glomped the guardian. (Me: If you don't know what glomp means…look it up)

"You're alive?!" Yuna asked.

"I am now…thanks to Sora and his friends." The guardian said as the two looked towards the Keyblade master…and promptly glomped him too, which earned him a jealous look from Kairi.

"We can reminisce later; right now we have more important things." Rufus said as he walked up to Zexion.

"I know, I know…the Room of Sleep right?" Zexion said as he walked off towards the study, followed by the rest of the Restoration committee, minus Rai, Vivi, Hayner, Pence, and Olette who were led off by Aerith, Tifa, Rinoa, and Yuffie, to find a place for them to stay.

"So tell me again Xigbar why you couldn't remember the password?" Zexion asked as he glared at the Freeshooter.

"Well…uh…I would usually just slip in before the door closed…I never did actually put in the password." He shrugged with a cheesy smile as they entered the study.

"Well it's about time ya got here." Cid said as he saved his work again and backed away from the computer.

"…and you are?" Zexion asked curiously.

"Cid…Cid Highwind…pleasure to meet ya." The gummy ship builder said with a grin.

"Cid is our resident gummy ship expert." Leon said as said expert walked towards the door.

"I'll be back, I'm just gonna check up on yawl's ship real quick." Cid said as he grabbed a toolbox and walked out the door.

"MCP, please bring up user profile, Ansem the Wise." Zexion said to the computer as a hologram of a gray man with blue circuit stripes all over him and strange looking armor appeared.

"The MCP is no longer in charge of this system, my name is Tron." The program said as Sora ran over to the hologram.

"Tron…how've you been!?" He said as the hologram turned to look at the Keyblade master with a smile.

"I'm currently operating and 97 efficiency Sora." Tron said proudly as he displayed the familiar password circle with seven blanks on the screen.

"Ok…as I was going to say a while ago, the password is simple…" Zexion said as he started to enter the passwords, "…from the top, going clockwise, the passwords are the names of Ansem and all six of his apprentices, arranged in the exact same order as their Organization nobodies are numbered…meaning Ansem's at the top, Xehanort would be number two, and I would be number seven…that's what all the letters beneath the blanks represent." Zexion explained as he sighed and put in the last name…Ienzo.

"Access granted." Tron said proudly as the screen revealed a list of commands.

Zexion scrolled down and selected a file called "Lab control systems" which brought up another list. Zexion clicked on the one marked "Room of Sleep."

"Apparently Superior decided to rename the file…" Zexion said as a small window opened on the screen that listed a single sentence.

"Do you want to unlock this room?"

Beneath it asked either yes or no…Zexion clicked yes and the screen switched to a camera view of the factory floor which a large rectangular portion opened downwards.

"Shall we?" Zexion said as he turned and walked towards the door.

"I got work to do so I'll pass." Xigbar said as he turned to leave, only to be grabbed by the collar by Axel and dragged towards the door.

"…then again maybe not." The Freeshooter said as he started walking on his own.

* * *

A moment later everyone but the Nobodies were on the bottom floor, and was waiting on the elevator to arrive…as they did a faint yet clearly noticeable explosion was heard from inside the elevator.

"Oh no…" Rufus said as he put his head to the wall.

"It had to happen eventually boss." Reno said as he attempted yet failed to hold back his laughter.

The door opened and the nobodies burst out, dissing and cussing Demyx and Axel out like mad. Once again Demyx had farted in the elevator…only this time he was unfortunate enough to be standing in front of Axel who had an open flame behind the Nocturne when he did.

Needless to say Axel was the only one who didn't need a bath to get the soot out off of himself.

After the blue air had cleared, they all gathered around the hole in the floor and peered down as Zexion and Xigbar proceeded to walk on in, and were shortly followed by the rest of the crowd.

Once inside they started to descend a long spiraling ramp, adorned with glowing purple and blue panels.

"Say Axel…" Sora asked the nobody.

"Axel…there I said it." The pyro said with a smirk, earning a few groans from the rest of the party.

"But seriously what ya need buddy?" Axel asked the Keybearer

"I'm trying to figure something out…if the first six apprentices and Roxas's names are the anagrams of their others…then how did you get your name?" Sora asked as Axel turned to Xigbar.

"Well little dude…" Xigbar spoke "…It really depended on who recruited him. Superior was really into the anagram thing, but the rest of us were not…though I can't say the same for Vexen."

"You see Xigbar here recruited me and Marluxia…" Axel said as they continued to descend, "…I recruited Demyx. Xemnas recruited Luxord… his other's name being Ludro, Larxene, and Roxas."

"And Lexaeus recruited Saix…" Xigbar added.

"Wait a minute." Elena said as she looked over her shoulder to look at the Pyro.

"I don't have an R in my name." "True but Xemnas decided to add it because it wouldn't sound sinister yet female otherwise." Axel explained and looked at the Savage Nymph who just looked over her shoulder for a moment before turning back.

Axel thought for a moment she hadn't noticed but a few seconds later…

"YIEEEEE!!" Axel screamed as he tripped and started rolling down the ramp, everyone stopped and glared at the Nymph who was smiling evilly.

Thankfully they were only one more flight from the bottom and reached a dazed Axel who had visions of his chakrams and tiny flames spinning around his head, who was lying in front of a pair of large white doors with the Nobody symbol on them.

"That was for igniting the inferno in the elevator and the name thing by the way." Larxene said as she smirked and crossed her arms.

"This…is it…the Room of Sleep." Rufus said as he walked towards the door, only to find it locked.

"What the?!" Rufus exclaimed then whirled around to Zexion.

"Don't look at me, it usually opened everything between the factory floor and the Room of Sleep…including this door." Zexion said as Kairi walked up to the door handle and saw the keyhole for the door.

"Allow me." She said as she summoned Lifebringer and pointed it at the lock. The Keyblade glowed with energy and a bright white circle formed around the end and a white beam of energy shot out and hit the keyhole, after the beam dissipated the door creaked open.

"I have got to get me one of those." Rufus said as he was about to walk in but was blocked by Zexion.

"Before you go in let me warn you…this is where the first heartless and the first nobodies were born…not to mention this is where Xigbar and myself came into being." Zexion said.

"He's right…I can sense the darkness is strong here." Riku added.

"Then perhaps I should go, first." Kairi suggested.

"Why?" Fuu asked as Kairi turned to face her.

"Because she's a Princess of Heart…her heart is so filled with light that any darkness around her can't touch her…" Riku explained "…If she goes in first she can technically clear the way for all of us."

"Ok then…here I go." Kairi said as she walked in followed shortly by the rest of the party.

Behind the doors was a stark white hallway lined with six doors that looked like prison cells with a pair of crisscrossing black chains across each one. Above each cell was a number in roman numerals with I and II being the closest two, III & IV in the middle and V & VI at the end before another double door with the nobody symbol on both doors.

Zexion looked at cell number VI and peered through the bars.

"This was where I was born." Zexion said in remorse, as the group stopped."

"Speaking of which…did you find Ienzo?" Rufus asked as Zexion lowered his head.

"We found his…tomb." Zexion said as everyone including Larxene was shocked by the news of Ienzo's death.

Suddenly they heard what sounded like gunshots. They turned and saw Xigbar firing his guns into the cell window of cell number two.

"GET AWAY FROM THE CELLS…THERE'S HEARTLESS IN THERE!!" he yelled as everyone hunched together in the center of the hall.

"Ah…the…experiments." Zexion said coldly.

"Uh let's just get through these last doors first." Sora said as Kairi kicked the door open, revealing a large circular room with a single chair facing the center and a number of chain shaped decals extending from the outside of the circle in the center of the room, up the walls, and to the outside of the circle on the ceiling.

"What is this place?" Kairi asked as she walked around the chair, she noticed a set of dark purple armor lying discarded on the floor and an equally dark Keyblade embedded in the floor next to it.

"What is that?!" Sora asked as the lights flickered and dimmed slightly.

"_Your question is mine to answer!" _a female voice said from out of nowhere.

"Who's there?" Riku asked as everyone drew their weapons.

Then the armor on the floor began to glow blue, and the specter of a woman with blue hair wearing a chest plate with red straps over her shoulders, black pants with a red belt buckle, and the boots from the armor appeared in front of said armor.

"_It feels so good to have such a strong heart of light around me again…instead of the emptiness of that nobody Xemnas."_

"Who are you?" Sora asked the specter, who smiled at Sora.

"_My name is Aqua…and I was a Keybearer like you." _She said as Roxas walked around Sora.

Aqua's eyes widened.

"_Ven! Your alive…no it can't be you…I sense nothing within you…are you his nobody?" _Aqua said everyone looked at Roxas with confusion, who gave an equally confused look at Aqua.

"I don't even know who you're talking about…I'm Roxas, I'm Sora's nobody…" Roxas explained then pointed at Sora. "…and this is Sora." Roxas smiled as Aqua got a disappointed look on her face.

"_Oh…I guess I've been here for so long…I can't even recognize my own comrades." _Aqua said as she started to fade slightly.

"Don't go…you've spent so long down here, and we've waited a long time to see this place…" Sora pleaded as she started to get brighter.

"_Well…I guess I could hang around a little longer…"_ Aqua said. She then turned to Kairi.

"_You are a Princess of Heart…I can tell by the light of your heart." _Kairi smiled at the specter, as a serious look swept over Aqua's face and she groaned as she doubled over in agony.

"_I sense a growing darkness…the worlds are in danger once again…the other knights must be found…"_ Aqua said through wincing. Sora approached the specter.

"Who?" _"The Kingdom Knights…the chosen guardians of Kingdom Hearts."_ Aqua said as she began to stand upright again.

"_A decade and two years ago, myself and two of my comrades faced a dark Keyblade master and his guardian, and prevented him from using its powers to conquer the worlds…we defeated him, erased his memories, and left him in the care of a wise young man…" _Aqua then looked at Rufus _"…he looked sort of like you…the wise man that is."_

Rufus's eyes widened "Wait…was his name Ansem?" Aqua was surprised.

"_Yes…that was his name...You are his son aren't you?" _Aqua said with a smile as Rufus nodded.

"_I am pleased to see that his lineage has continued…" _Aqua then furrowed her brow and looked at the Keyblade in Kairi's hand, then at its wielder.

"_You…Princess…what is your name." _"I'm Kairi." Aqua's eyes widened and she stared at the girl for a moment before smiling, a tear of light started to roll down her cheek.

"what's wrong?" Kairi asked caringly as only a Princess of heart could manage as Aqua quickly dried her eyes.

"_Kairi…" _She cleared her throat as she regained her composure _"…this armor acts like a Keyblade…it chooses its wearer, and will come when needed…and when summoned…it also houses my spirit..." _She said as both the armor and Kairi started to glow blue.

"…_the armor has chosen you to be its new wearer…" _Aqua said as the armor vanished in a flash of blue light, and reappeared on Kairi in the same manner, the armor had resized itself to fit the comparatively smaller girl.

"_You…are now…a Kingdom Knight." _Aqua said as Kairi summoned her Keyblade but to her surprise Aqua's Keyblade vanished from the floor and reappeared in Kairi's hand.

"_It is called Kingdom of the Sea…there are always three knights…each wielding a different element." _Aqua said as everyone stared in awe at Kairi's new armor. _"I wielded water, one wields the sky, the other __wields the land. These elements, alone are powerful, but together they can wield the very power of Kingdom Hearts itself."_

Aqua explained as the light from her specter appeared as if it was being pulled towards Kairi.

"_I know where the others are…I will show you the WAY!!" _She said as she finally vanished into the armor, then both the armor and Keyblade vanished leaving Lifebringer in Kairi's hand.

* * *

**Later…**

The party had returned to the surface via a black portal, because they didn't want to climb the spiraling ramp. Kairi had excused herself to be alone so she could try to figure it out.

She was quietly sitting on a long crate in the postern, her brain trying to make sense of what happened, as the shadow of a much taller person appeared behind her.

"Not now Sora." She said as the figure moved around in front of her and she found herself staring at a pair of pointy gold plated shoes, she looked up and saw the enigmatic Vincent Valentine hovering over her, looking at her with a mellow expression.

She was startled at first but they stared at each other for a while before Vincent finally spoke.

"I knew her…" "Huh?" "…Aqua…I hid myself when I saw it was her…" Vincent explained.

"What…was she like?" Kairi asked as Vince sat down to her left on the other end of the crate.

"…a lot like you…young, smart, courageous, caring…beautiful." Vince said as Kairi looked at him.

"Do you know what hardships she went through?" he continued as she shook her head.

"She…" he paused as something occurred to him, "…she was forced to abandon her family when she went to war…and when she returned…they were gone." Vince said as Kairi lowered her head.

"You want to know the best part though?" he asked, she nodded.

"The thing that kept her going…her life-force…was the thought of seeing her family again." Vince said as he turned to look at her. "You may not realize it but you have a family too…but they won't leave you…they travel with you." She raised her head as she realized what he meant.

"Auron, Zexion, Roxas, Namine, Riku…Sora!!" she said as she looked at the red warrior who smiled and nodded in agreement. She smiled and jumped up to hug the man who quickly adopted a surprised look on his face, then she kissed him on the cheek, and stood back up.

"Thank you Vincent." Kairi said as she then ran off to find Sora and the gang.

Vincent smiled as he watched her run back into the castle, once she was gone he turned to find himself staring at the grand ninja of Radiant Garden herself…holding a camcorder.

"You wouldn't believe what I got on tape…video footage of the Vincent Valentine actually smiling." Yuffie said as the man groaned, rolled his eyes, and got up to go back to his coffin and nail himself inside.

* * *

**End Chapter 15**

Me: Once again another long chapter… (Xemnas clears his throat)…what?

Xemnas: I believe a disclaimer in necessary?

Me: Oh right…As some of you may know, Aqua is a confirmed character in the upcoming Kingdom Hearts game "Birth by Sleep." As such I do not own Aqua…or any of the characters in this fic. Also what I say happened during Aqua's time is not to be considered actual info on the aforementioned game, this is merely speculation on my part.

Axel: OOH, OOH can I say it please, please, oh please??

Me: Oh sure.

Axel: It…there I said it. (Everyone groans as Demyx whacks him in the back of the head with the sitar.)

Demyx: I'll say it…(Everyone draws their weapons at him, in case he says it again)…

Demyx: Please read and review or else be swarmed by Dancer Nobodies and drowned in water forms.

Axel: (Half-passed out) Got it…Memorized…ugh (passes out)


	16. On the Road again

Me: Here we go again folks… (Starts story)

* * *

"You can't be serious!" Seifer said as Fuu shook her head… they were on the balcony that Leon had seen Rinoa and the gang's arrival on a few days ago.

"You can't honestly be thinking about going with them are you?" He yelled as she looked at him with her red eyes…

"Leaving." She said as she confirmed her intentions to leave with Riku and his friends on their quest to find the Kingdom Knights.

"It won't be the same without ya…ya' know?" Rai said as she smiled and nodded to the built teenager.

"Well…" Seifer said reluctantly "If you're going to be going on some maddening adventure, at least take this with you." He said as he held out a large blue box with a white bow on it.

"I had that Demyx guy make it…" Seifer said as Fuu opened the box, "I remembered back when Hayner threw that ring from his cousin's ring toss game at you and you caught it and hit him square in the head with it when you threw it." He said with a laugh as she held up a large blue ring with six shark fin like blades evenly spaced between each other around the outer edge of the ring.

"It's called a chakram…you can throw it and use it as a melee weapon." He said as she smiled.

"Thank you." She said as she hugged the blond teenager.

"Well goodbye Fuu…" Vivi said as he looked up at the girl.

"Farewell." she said as she turned to leave but about half way through the doorway she stopped, slowly turned around to face them and quickly ran back to them and pulled them into a group hug.

"Forget?" she asked.

"Never." Seifer said with a smile which she returned and then turned to leave.

* * *

"So let me get this straight…you were the Grand Summoner who defeated Sin in Auron's world?!" Sora asked disbelievingly.

"Yep..." Yuna said with a smile, "…and Auron was my guardian."

"Wow…I never would have thought you would need guarding." Sora said as Yuna giggled from the complement.

"Thanks, I wish you luck on your journey Sora." Yuna said as Rikku and Paine walked up.

"Good luck Sora, hope you have a blast." Rikku said in her usual cheery manner.

"Yeah…a real blowout." Paine said in her typical gothic response tone as the other two walked off. Once they weren't looking Paine knelt down to his level.

"If you tell them about this I'll kill you…" she said as she quickly kissed Sora's cheek and smirked "…good luck." She whispered as she ran off to catch the other two, leaving a stunned Sora behind.

* * *

"Well buddy, it's that time again…" Axel said as Roxas smirked

"The wheel of morality?" "What…have you been watching Animanics again?" Axel asked.

"No…well ok a little." Roxas said as they both laughed.

"Ok but remember when in trouble…put your head between your knees…" **"…and kiss your bum goodbye!"** Roxas and Axel said in unison and laughed.

"Hey didn't I used to say that to Rude?" Reno said as he and said silent partner approached.

"Yeah I think so." Axel said as they laughed.

"Here…Rude has a present for ya." Reno said as Rude pulled out a wooden box from his suit and handed it to Roxas.

"Should I soak it in water first?" "No that's if I give you a present…Rude is safe…I think." Axel said as Roxas cautiously opened the box, revealing fourteen pairs of sunglasses.

Roxas looked at them for a moment before bursting out laughing. Rude merely smiled…he got the response he was waiting for.

"These may actually come in handy." Roxas said as he closed the box and put it under his arm.

"Well good luck buddy…and be safe." Axel said seriously as he hugged his friend.

"I will…" Roxas said as he turned to leave and saw Hayner, Pence, and Olette waiting for him by the door.

"Well Roxas…we uh…we wanted to…uh." Hayner said as he struggled to come up with the words. "…We wanted to give you a present." Olette finished as Pence nodded and pulled out a small metal object, it was an X like on Roxas's Zipper.

"Put it on your Keyblade." Pence said as Roxas put it on Oathkeeper and it transformed into a really Nobody like Keyblade.

"We entered the virtual twilight town and we found this on the ground outside the old mansion." Pence said as Roxas smiled.

"Two Across." Roxas said as he looked at the Keyblade.

"Huh?" Hayner asked.

"It's called Two Across…Axel gave it to me as a One month in the Organization present." Roxas said as he continued to examine it.

"I thought I lost it when I became whole with Sora." He said as he started to tear up.

"Wow that must be some present for you to tear up like that." Olette said as he shook his head with a smile.

"No…it's just that I never got to say goodbye to you the first time, when Sora first met you after we became whole…you know at the train station." Roxas said as the three smiled and jumped into a group hug.

"You just did Roxas." Hayner said as the others smiled and nodded.

* * *

Later everyone had gathered around at the platform where the Gummy ship had landed.

Sora was walking out when he saw Cloud standing by the platform smiling at him.

"Cloud." Sora said as he remembered his promise. "We ran into Sephiroth in Twilight Town…he was helping Saix."

"I know…Riku told me." Cloud said as he knelt down to the Keybearer.

"Sephiroth isn't important right now…your mission is what's important." He said as he and the Keybearer both nodded in understanding and headed for the gummy ship.

A few moments later everyone waved goodbye as the heroes Sora, Riku, Kairi, Roxas, Namine, Zexion, Auron, and Fujin, all marched towards the Gummy ship.

Kairi looked around hoping to see Vincent among the crowd but alas couldn't see him.

She then looked up on top of one of the smaller balconies and saw him smile and give her a nod. She returned the gesture and returned her gaze to the rest of the people.

Then she heard Aqua's voice inside her head.

"_Our adventure begins."_ "My Adventure continues." Kairi added as she could tell that in her heart Aqua was smiling.

Roxas waved at the Twilight trio and his fellow nobodies as Axel tapped his head in his signature "Got it Memorized" motion.

Fuu smiled and waved at her friends, Rai and Vivi were waving back at her Seifer however was fiddling with something at his side. She looked harder and saw Seifer draw the Hyperion, aim it away from the crowd and the gummy ship, put a finger to his ear and pulled the trigger.

Fireworks started going off in the air from Hyperion as Seifer looked at Fuu and smiled while still with the finger to his ear.

Auron filled with pride as he watched Yuna, Rikku, and Paine waving at him, which he nodded in response to.

Soon the gummy ship lifted into the air and tore off into space.

"Well Kairi…" Namine asked her other who was back to her old self, "…where to?"

"I don't know what it's called but Aqua gave me the coordinates of a world where we can find a major clue as to where one of the Kingdom Knight's armor sets are located." Kairi said as she put the coordinates in and the gummy ship turned in tune with the coordinates and streaked off like a comet.

* * *

**Meanwhile in the World that Never Was…**

Maleficent and the rest of the villains gathered around the glowing sphere as they watched the Gummy ship flying in space.

"Where can they be going?" Xaldin asked as Vexen scratched his chin.

"I want to know who it was that dealt the killing blow to Saix." A voice from the shadows yelled.

"If he hadn't killed his own other when he was reborn the first time he would be here right now to tell us!" Lexaeus yelled as he slammed his fists on the table causing it to crumble and buckle where his fists were.

"I know who killed him…" Sephiroth said as the view switched to the image of Fuu running Saix through during their battle in Twilight Town. "That girl is the one who killed Saix?!" Xaldin said outraged.

"That whelp couldn't hit the broad side of a Twilight Thorn." Lexaeus said as the view switched back to the gummy ship.

"But yet she killed me…" the Luna Diviner said with a smirk as he emerged from the shadows, the Villains were stunned to say the least.

"How are you still alive?!" Xaldin barked as he whirled around to face the formerly deceased nobody.

"The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated; the same goes for my other." Saix said as he took his place at the table and a world finally started to appear within the sphere, Vexen grinned.

"Ah…I know this world." Vexen said with a sinister smile.

"Please elaborate number four." Maleficent said as she looked at the Chilly Academic.

"Well I happen to know this very fine chemist there, she used to have the job as the royal advisor to this bumbling, egotistical, emperor…that is until I helped her create a potion that would help her dispose of him." Vexen said as he laughed his freaky laugh from Re: Chain of Memories. (Me: I saw it on YouTube…I don't have the Final Mix…curse you Square Enix for not making it in English)

"Perhaps she would be willing to assist you this time…" Maleficent said with a smile.

"Perhaps she will…but I will need to…pack, a few things first." Vexen said as he looked towards a figure in the shadows.

"You have ten minutes." The figure said as Vexen smiled, bowed, then vanished in a black portal.

A moment later a slightly short hooded figure emerged from the shadows.

"Good you have arrived…" a voice from the shadows said as the hooded figure simply stood there with its head lowered.

"...What shall we call you…I know…number 14…the Guardian of Darkness." The voice proclaimed as Vexen returned with a long object wrapped in a black cloth.

"I thought I should bring this…it is your weapon…very appropriate that you should have it…you will become far stronger than its previous wielder ever was." Vexen said as he handed the long wrapped object to the unknown figure and quickly vanished to return to his packing.

The figure began to unwrap it. It began to grin wickedly from under its hood at the object... it was the Keyblade Soul Eater, Riku's former Keyblade.

* * *

The light faded as our heroes found themselves on top of a grass covered hill.

"Where are we?" Sora asked as he looked around.

"I don't know but Aqua said it's where we will find some major clue that will point us towards a set of Kingdom Knight armor." Kairi answered.

"Look there's a village." Riku pointed towards another hill with a small yet sizeable village on it with huts made of thatched roofs and sand colored walls.

As the group walked down the hill they were on, Riku noticed something attached to Fuu's side.

"Hey, Fuu?" he asked as he caught up with the albino.

"Yes?" she asked with a slight smile.

"What's that on you have there?" Riku asked as he pointed to the chakram.

"It's called a chakram Riku." Roxas said from behind, as Riku looked over his shoulder at the nobody.

"How do you know?" Riku asked as Roxas laughed, "Duh…I'm best friends with a guy who wields two red ones…Got it Memorized?" Roxas said as he tapped his head in an Axel-like fashion, as Riku smiled and rolled his eyes then looked back at Fuu.

"But where did you get yours Fuu?" Riku asked.

"Seifer." She responded with a smile.

"Really? Where did he get it?" Riku asked as Zexion interrupted.

"It looks like Demyx's handy work. See the blades? That is clearly a Demyx made weapon." The Schemer said as the group continued towards a path that lead up the hill.

Sora then noticed a small field of wheat where a man in a red faded poncho with brown colored peasant clothing, and wearing a wide straw hat with a tan leather cap underneath was thrashing stalks of wheat with a scythe.

"Hold on a second guys I'll be right back." Sora said as he ran over to the farmer.

"Excuse me?" Sora said as the farmer dropped his shoulders.

"I told you once I told you a thousand times, to use fertilizer…" the man said without looking.

"Fertilizer?" Sora asked confused.

"Yes fertilizer now if you just…" the man said as looked over his shoulder and went bug eyed when he saw Sora. But he quickly regained his composure.

"Oh I'm sorry I thought you were one of the locals from on top of the hill." The man said as he turned partially towards the Keybearer.

The man never looked straight at him, instead keeping his gaze directed towards the ground, which blocked Sora's view of his face with the rim of the hat, save for his mouth and what appeared to be a faint strand of pink hair.

"It's ok. I get confused with other people all the time." Sora said as he recalled all the times he was referred to as Roxas.

"What can I help you with?" the man asked.

"Could you tell me where I am…my friends and I are kind of lost." He said as the man smirked.

"Sure…" he pointed towards the village, "that's the village…the village leader is a man named Pacha…nice guy, family man…recently came into possession of a demon llama."

"A what?"

"You'll see…" the man said as he then pointed towards a mountain far off in the distance with a large fan shaped golden structure near the top.

"...and that's the imperial city where the imperial palace of Emperor Kuzco is located…excuse me, 'miss oh so high and mighty' empress Ezma…if you want my advise…don't go to her if you need a favor…unless you just want to have it turned down and get thrown out of one of the palace's high windows for your trouble." The man said as Sora nodded.

"Ok…thanks…say before I go have you heard anything about a suit of magic armor that chooses it's wearer?" Sora asked as he turned to leave.

The man cocked his head to one side, still hiding his face, and scratched his chin.

"Yes and no…I have heard that either someone in the village or in the imperial city knows something about a suit of armor though…you may want to try the village first…now if you will kindly move…you're standing on my wild flowers." The man said as Sora jumped off the flowers and ran back to his group, thanking the man over his shoulder as he ran.

"Well?" Zexion asked.

"He said we should try the village first, and talk to some guy named Pacha…also said something about a demon llama." Sora said as the group set off towards the village.

As they walked off the farmer watched them leave and turned to his bed of flowers and knelt down to them.

"I'm sorry my lovelies, I'm afraid the elements are your caretakers now." The man said as he cut through the field towards the village.

The group reached the top of the village hill, having been told by a couple of kindly old men playing checkers that Pacha's house was the one at the very top.

A large man wearing a green poncho, brown peasant's robes and a tan cap was seen talking to a red and black furred llama…who the group could have sworn was talking back and even making facial gestures at the man.

"No, I am not taking you back until you promise not to build your summer home on my village." The man said as the Llama snorted.

"Well them where would you suggest I build it?" the llama argued.

"Why not the hill over there…only one who lives there is that weird farmer who my kids say has pink hair." The man said as he pointed to the hill where our heroes had appeared.

"Now why didn't I notice that hill…my real estate appraisers really are not doing their jobs…I would have taken that one, had I known about it." The Llama said as the man noticed the bug eyed faces of the group in front him and the arched eyebrow of the tall red robed man.

Pacha grabbed the llama's head and turned it to face the group…the llama started acting as if it was a llama but its cover was already blown.

"What is that?" Riku said as the man started to act innocently.

"It's a llama haven't you ever seen one before?" the man asked in a friendly manner.

"That's no ordinary llama is it?" Auron asked as the llama started sweating, the man moved in front of it to block them if they tried anything.

"Demon Llama?" Fuu asked as the man flinched as he realized the jig was up.

"(sigh) ok you caught us, my name is Pacha, I'm the village leader, and this 'llama' is named Kuzco."

"(ahem) Emperor Kuzco." The llama said as he quickly covered its mouth with its hooves like a person would do.

"Wait a minute you're the Emperor?!" Riku asked as Kairi heard Aqua's voice again.

"_He is the rightful ruler of this kingdom…he was betrayed and overthrown by his own advisor…I sense a trace of emptiness as if a nobody has helped cause this to happen to him."_

The llama had repeated everything Aqua said to some extent, as Kairi leaned over to Zexion.

"Can you tell if a nobody was responsible for his being this way?"

"Yes, why?" Zexion asked confused.

"Trust me I think there may be more here than meets the eye."

Zexion sighed and used a spell called "soul stare" to look at Kuzco's spirit…what he saw was dumbfounding.

"You're human." Zexion said as the Llama looked at him bug eyed.

"Duh…do you think people would take me serious if I was llama face?" Kuzco replied.

"What happened?" Sora asked as Kuzco relayed his entire tale to the group.

Apparently his former advisor Ezma had over stepped her bounds and tried to run the kingdom, and was fired in response for it. She then met this strange man in a black cloak running around the palace with her, who helped her create a potion that was apparently supposed to kill him, but instead something went wrong and he was transformed into a llama, stuffed in a bag, and thrown on a cart owned by Pacha.

Zexion, Roxas, and Riku knew immediately what had happened.

"It sounds like a Vexen original." Zexion said as the other two nodded.

"Who is this Vixen? Is she a babe?" Kuzco asked.

"No…Vexen…he's a very dangerous man who controls the element of ice, he's also a top notch chemist." Zexion explained as Roxas added, "…and also very creepy."

"Well it looks like we're going to need a way to turn him back to normal…if there is one." Sora said as he turned to Zexion.

"Is there any way to undo a Vexen potion?" "Yes there is actually…a simple elixir potion should do the trick." Roxas paled.

"Oh no…I forgot to pack the elixirs!!" the nobody yelled as something clicked in Kuzco's mind.

"Wait you need elixirs?" Kuzco asked.

"Yeah…" "Well I think I've heard Ezma say that she has dozens of those in her 'secret lab…" Kuzco said making air quotes with his hooves "All we have to do is go to the palace and get one and…BOOM BABY Kuzco is back in town!!"

"Then we better get going, if we want to get there before night fall." Sora said.

"Well if you're going to the palace you're going to need a guide…" Pacha said as he grabbed a slightly tattered and brown backpack from behind a wall.

"…and I know the quickest and safest route, so count me in." he said as he put the back pack on.

"By the way…who are you guys?" Kuzco asked.

"I'm Sora, this is Riku and Kairi. And this is Roxas, Fuu, Zexion, and Auron." Sora said as they nodded when their name was mentioned.

"Pleasure to meet you all." Pacha said as he and Kuzco started down the path with our heroes in tow.

* * *

**End Chapter 16**

Me: Well that's it for this chapter.

Xigbar: Huh…the Emperor's New Groove…I love that movie.

Luxord: You like every movie.

Xigbar: Yeah so?

Xemnas: Readers please review, and tell us what your hearts say of this story.

Me: Again with the heart thing Xemnas?

Xemnas: …and if you flame, your hearts shall be consumed by darkness.

Me: I think I like this guy.


	17. Old Enemies, New Ally

Me: I so want to find a copy of "Circle of Fire" by Tempo.

Everyone: Huh?

Me: It's a song "inspired" by Axel…in fact his name is spelled out and his catch phrase is noticeably heard in the song (e.g. A-X-E-L got it memorized?)

Axel: I have a theme song?!

Larxene, Roxas, Demyx, & Sora: HE has a theme song?!

Me: yep.

Everyone: O…M…G!!

Axel: (Grins)

Me: (Starts story)

* * *

Within the Imperial Palace, a very thin and very old woman with an elaborate headdress and purple dress sat upon a tall stone throne, with a sour expression on her face, tapping her index fingers together, as a large man approached wearing a servant's uniform approached with oven mitts on and holding a tray of triangle shaped puffs.

"Hey Ezma you want a spinach puff?" the big guy asked as he held out the tray "They're fresh from the oven."

"Not now Kronk…I'm trying to figure out if there's anything that can be done to dispose of Kuzco before anyone finds out he's alive." Ezma said as she returned to tapping her fingers, she then stopped and reached for a blanket from behind the throne.

"Is it just me or is it cold in here?" she asked, then her eyes widened as both she and Kronk watched a snowflake drift down from the ceiling.

"What is going on around here?" she asked as a voice spoke.

"It's always to hot around here, so I made things a little more pleasant." Ezma knew who it was.

"Kronk…mallet." She said as the big man instantly produced a large wooden hammer, and smacked her on the head with it. A goofy expression swept across her face, she then shook her head quickly and glared at the big man.

"You know you uh…can get a concussion from that and uh…you can die…cause you know…get a headache…and uh." Kronk said very buffoon like.

"Oh spare me the imbecile's droning." The voice said as a black portal appeared and the Chilly Academic appeared with his shield in one hand, and a large square case with a biohazard insignia and two sets of hazard stripes going around the box.

"Hello Ezma…you look…ravishing." Vexen said as he struggled to come up with a complement.

"Vexen…I can't begin to thank you for your help in disposing with Kuzco." Ezma said as she sauntered up to him with the mallet continently hidden behind her back.

"Well thank you Ezma I'm glad I could OWWW!!" he yelled as Ezma whacked him on the head with the mallet.

"You idiot you gave me the wrong potion…you gave me extract of LLAMA!!" she yelled as Vexen tried to stop the snowflakes and shields dancing from around his head.

"Wait you mean Kuzco is ALIVE!?" Vexen shouted as Ezma whacked him again.

"Not so loud you fool someone might hear us." She whispered through clinched teeth as he pulled himself up.

"Then it looks like we could help each other out." He said with a sneer.

"How so?" she asked as she crossed her arms.

"Because as we speak Kuzco and some peasant are on their way here, with a bunch of bumbling brats that have been the biggest pains in my superiors' back sides for well over a month now." Vexen said as he summoned a purple sphere that showed an image of our heroes with Llama face Kuzco and Pacha walking through the jungle.

"At this rate they will be here soon." Vexen said as they looked at the sphere.

Ezma then snapped her fingers and declared: "Quick to the secret lab!!"

Vexen followed her and Kronk to a monster like statue in the wall with two tusks on it.

"Pull the lever Kronk." Ezma said as Kronk pulled down on one of the tusks and both she and Vexen dropped through a trap door into a pit of alligators.

"WRONG LEVERRRRRRRRR!!"

A moment later the two stalked out of a door where the pit was located.

"UGH, why do you even have that lever?!" Vexen said as he turned the alligator biting down on his cloak into a giant Popsicle.

After a rollercoaster ride down to the lab, Vexen opened his biohazard box and began removing potions from within it.

"Now what to do about them." Ezma asked as she and the Chilly Academic thought long and hard.

"What we need is something to buy us some time." Vexen said as she gave him an exasperated look.

"I know but what can we do…wait can't you send some of those…what are they called…heartless at them?" Ezma asked as a sinister though crossed Vexen's mind.

"While it may not be original…" Vexen said as he summoned another purple sphere.

"…but it will buy us the time we need to come up with a brilliant plan." He laughed as the sphere showed Ezma an unknown image. The woman smiled sinisterly as Vexen threw up his hand and a giant yet familiar Heartless and an equally giant and familiar Nobody appeared.

"I give you…DarkSide and Twilight thorn!!"

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

The Heroes reached the gates of the imperial city and were looking forward to finding the much needed Elixir.

"Wow would you look at this place." Roxas said as he looked around in amazement.

"Come on the palace is this way." Pacha said as he led the group towards the palace steps.

Auron glanced over his shoulder, he had been feeling as if they were being followed ever since they left the village, but he didn't see anyone that looked familiar.

As the group approached the palace steps seven large burly men who were painted blue on their right side and red on their left approached them.

"Halt strangers…no visitors to see the Empress Ezma without a written invitation." One of the guards said as the group came to a halt.

"But we have to get inside!" Sora pleaded as Pacha quickly clamped Kuzco's mouth shut before he could say anything.

"Do you have an invitation?" the guard asked as Sora looked at his group looking for help…but he received none.

"Hey is your Llama ok sir?" another guard asked as he noticed Pacha trying to keep the struggling llama's mouth shut.

"Uh he's a little OOF…excited about AGH…seeing you guys." Pacha said as Zexion and Riku joined in and tried to keep the llama-faced emperor controlled.

"Well ok but just try and keep it quiet." The guard said as the sky started to turn black.

"What the?" a guard asked as he looked up.

"I don't like the looks of this." Sora said as a large black monstrosity dropped out of the sky followed by a large white monstrosity followed shortly afterwards sending the guards and most of the townsfolk running for their lives…that is except a man dressed like the farmer that Sora had talked to outside the village, who glared at the monsters.

"DARKSIDE!!" Sora yelled "AND TWILIGHT THORN!!" Roxas added as the group summoned their weapons.

Zexion took Pacha and Kuzco somewhere to hide as the group split off.

Roxas, Fuu, and Riku, went after Twilight Thorn as Sora, Kairi, and Auron went after Darkside.

"Kairi use the armor!!" Sora yelled, dodging Darkside's fist as Kairi tried to summon it to no effect. Aqua's voice was then heard within her mind.

"_There has to be water near for the armor to be effective…" _"You think you could have told me that before hand?" Kairi yelled as she turned to look at Zexion.

"Zexion!! Make it RAIN!!" she yelled as he didn't even think about it. He began flipping madly through the pages of the lexicon as he started to find the rain spell, but couldn't find it.

"What page is it…WHAT PAGE IS IT!!" He yelled at himself. Then a voice beside him calmly said…

"Page 126, fifth paragraph." "Thanks…wait…how?!" Zexion said as he looked at the source of the voice and saw the farmer from before.

"Good to see you too Zexion." The man said. He suddenly was enveloped by a black portal, only he didn't disappear. The portal vanished and a man in black organization robes with pink hair looked at Zexion with a smile.

"Marluxia?!" Zexion said as the Graceful Assassin summoned his scythe and charged towards the battle before them.

"I'd hurry up with that rain spell if you want them to live!!" Marluxia yelled over his shoulder at the Cloaked Schemer who quickly cast the spell and rain shortly began to fall from the sky.

"Now Kairi!!" Riku yelled as she tried again…this time she succeeded and the armor appeared around her and her Keyblade became the "Kingdom of the Sea" Keyblade.

"_Let's do this."_ Aqua said as Kairi began a heavy limit break called Loudwater Fury.

As she began to channel her energy a flash of pink flew past her and pinned Darkside against the palace wall.

Sora, who was in Master Form and with the Fatal Crest Keyblade in his offhand, stared as he saw a pink haired figure leap away from the giant heartless and land next to him.

"Nice to see you still alive Sora…how've you BEEN!?" Marluxia asked as he shoved Sora out of the way of one of Twilight Thorns…thorns.

As the rain water swirled into a large glowing blue ball of water above her head. Kairi leapt up and with a mighty swing of the Keyblade smacked the large sphere towards the pinned Darkside. The ball of water crashed into the heartless which vaporized said heartless from the sheer power of the attack.

Kairi landed and nearly fell over from the exhaustion of performing such a mentally straining attack, as the armor and Keyblade vanished.

"_The first is always the hardest." _Aqua said as Kairi suddenly got a surge of strength, took Wisdom form, and turned towards Twilight Thorn.

With Darkside out of the way, Twilight Thorn was all that stood between them and the Palace.

Fuu grabbed her chakram as it surged with blue energy and she hurled it at one of the giant nobody's long swaying thorns. The chakram hit the thorn with a short yet blinding flash, but it didn't stop there, the chakram started flying around as if it was being guided and it quickly sliced every thorn off of the nobody.

"How did you do that?!" Riku asked as he ran past the girl.

"Unknown" was all she answered as she caught the chakram.

"Probably something Demyx or Axel did to it." As Zexion ran past with his lexicon open as a boulder from their battle with Lexaeus flew out and struck the nobody and threw it against the wall as Marluxia jumped into the air and hurled his scythe towards it and pinned it against the wall just like he did Darkside.

Roxas jumped into the air and took on a special drive form called the "Thirteenth form."

His clothes changed into a black with white trimmed vest with a black long-sleeved shirt underneath (with his X shaped zipper symbol becoming a XIII) and black pants with black with white trimmed boots. Oathkeeper and Oblivion were still in his hands but Two Across was floating behind him.

Two Across floated around in front of his head aiming at the giant nobody as Roxas held the other two Keyblades out forming a triangle as he began a limit break called the "Thirteenth Trinity."

The Keyblades started spinning around and glowed white (Oathkeeper), purple (Oblivion), or had black and white thorns swirling around them (Two Across), and they gravitated towards each other creating a single spinning weapon of Light, Dark, and Nothingness magic.

It rocketed towards the giant nobody which vanished in the massive explosion of light, darkness, and nothingness, that followed.

They all watched as the Twilight Thorn faded into darkness. Roxas reverted to normal form as Oblivion and Oathkeeper returned to his hands and the sky returned to normal.

"When did you learn that?" Sora asked his Nobody.

"I guess…I did it by instinct…I never knew I could do it." Roxas said with a shrug.

"It must have been when the two of you became whole." Riku said as the group gathered around.

"So…the Graceful Assassin lives." Zexion said as he approached the former lord of Castle Oblivion.

Marluxia smiled at Zexion and Roxas then turned to Sora.

"I'm very glad to see you alive Sora." He said as the Keyblade master scrunched up his face in confusion.

"Have we met?" Sora asked as Marluxia smile dropped as he remembered what happened in Castle Oblivion.

"We have but…you won't remember." Marluxia said as Roxas spoke up.

"Axel said you and Larxene had been planning a coup but he never elaborated as to why." The nobody said as Marluxia nodded.

"I never told him because I felt that deep down he was a double agent, my plan was to use Sora…but only to stop Xemnas and the others before they accomplished their goal." He explained.

"Xemnas believed that Kingdom Hearts would give us hearts in exchange for a drastic number of hearts…I believed him to be only half correct." He continued,

"I believe that Kingdom Hearts will grant us hearts…but only if one of two things happen…either we do great kindness that sheds light upon the worlds and think nothing of our selves…or if the Kingdom Knights were to return and use their power to give them to us." He concluded as everyone turned to Kairi.

But before she could say anything they heard a strange clapping noise, they turned to see Ezma and Vexen standing and clapping.

"Brave words for one so uneducated…you are also half right number 11. The Knights would grant us hearts if they could and we both know that they are dead and gone…they died off a decade ago." Vexen said as he taunted the Assassin.

"…and there is no way kindness and selflessness would get us hearts…only add to the illusion that we did." He finished

"Ezma!!" Kuzco yelled as he and Pacha arrived in the palace courtyard.

"Looking for this?" Ezma said as she held out a small vial with a pink bubbly liquid inside.

Suddenly Vexen was knocked forward by a small blue flying blur from behind, it was Fuu's chakram.

"F minus!!" Fuu taunted the Chilly Academic with a failing science grade, Vexen's biggest button to push, as she caught the chakram.

"Why you little…" Vexen snarled as he charged the girl with his shield, ready to ram her but found himself grabbed by the collar of his hood and hurled against the wall, curiously of Riku.

"Don't. Touch. My. FRIENDS!!" Riku snarled as Fuu hurled the chakram at Ezma.

Ezma flinched as she dodged it but in knocked the vial out of her hand.

She scrambled to grab it but just as she got hold of it the chakram flew back and caught her by the neck and yanked her away, dropping the vial again.

Vexen dived for it, as a powerful gust of wind pulled it away from him. He looked to see Auron spinning his sword super fast, creating a vacuum effect.

Lightning fast, Auron grabbed the vial and stopped spinning the blade simultaneously, as Ezma lunged towards the vial which Auron yanked away from her. Vexen took the opportunity to fire a beam of ice at the guardian, even though it missed, the force from the blast knocked him over and the vial flew towards Sora and Roxas who ran towards each other.

"I got it" they both said at the same time but crashed into each other and fell to the ground as Kairi leapt over them doing a spiral as she grabbed it.

"No I got it." She said with a smile in mid air. But as soon as she landed she saw Kronk coming at her, well not so much as running after her maliciously…he thought they were playing a game of ten against three football with the vial.

"I GOT IT EZMA!!" he yelled as he threw himself at the girl.

"ZEXION CATCH!!" she yelled as she threw the vial and jumped out of the way of the falling buffoon.

The Schemer ran for it but was tripped by Ezma who cackled manically as she caught the vial but was quickly head butted by Kuzco, and again dropped the vial.

Vexen launched a rain of icicles at the llama emperor who ran from the flying, cold, death as Vexen dove for the vial, caught it, and black portaled to a ledge on the castle.

"HA HA!! The potion is MINE!! And also the life of you Kuzco!! Now I'll just destroy this potion and UNGH!!" Vexen cringed as he looked down to see the business end of a pink Scythe sticking out of his stomach…Marluxia had stabbed him in the back…literally.

As he faded into darkness he dropped the vial which Marluxia skillfully caught by yanking the scythe out of Vexen and swinging then holding it horizontally underneath the vial.

Marluxia black portaled to the ground and handed the vial to Pacha.

"Give me that!!" Ezma yelled as Zexion tripped her with a smirk, and then opened his lexicon and chanted.

"MISTRESS OF NIGHT BEGONE, SYMBOL OF LIGHT COME FORTH." (Me: now you know why I suck at poetry)

In a flash of purple smoke Ezma vanished and was replaced by a little pink kitten…who Marluxia threw a fist full of seeds at and commanded a number of vines to sprout from said seeds and entangle the raging kitten (Axel: Talk about your oxymorons.)

Pacha uncorked the vial, but before handing it to Kuzco, he looked at him with a look of suspicion. Kuzco smiled and shook his head.

"Pacha I know what you're asking for…and your right…I should think of the people more…that and I stayed on that hill for a month and didn't hear any singing." Kuzco said as Pacha smiled and handed Kuzco the bottle who quickly drank it.

And in a puff of pink smoke the llama was gone and replaced by a young man with black hair wearing big blue oval shaped earrings, a red robe, golden ankle bracelets and a pair of brown sandals.

"HA BOOM BABY!! KUZCO'S BACK IN…POWAH!! Kuzco yelled as he started dancing and a little man wearing sunglasses with a sparkling Elvis-like toga, and a large orange afro appeared from inside the palace.

"WHATS HIS NAME?!" and a large chorus of people started singing "KUZCO!!" as everyone laughed. (Except Pacha, Marluxia, and Auron, who just smiled and shook their heads)

* * *

A while later, on the gummy ship, Marluxia walked up to Kairi and Sora, the latter of which was repeatedly telling Kairi how cool she was when she destroyed Darkside with the Tides of Truth limit break, when Marluxia interrupted.

"Sora I must apologize to you for one thing." Marluxia said as the Keybearer looked up at him confused.

"For what?" he asked.

"For deceiving you about that armor you asked me about." Marluxia said as Sora realized that Marluxia and the farmer near the village were one and the same.

"I do know where one of the armor sets is…" "Really? Where?" Sora asked as the Graceful Assassin now had the whole gummy ship's attention.

"The Room of Awakening." The pink haired man said.

"…In Castle Oblivion." Zexion added receiving a nod from Marluxia.

"But how do they go in without losing their memories?" Roxas asked.

"If we go in through the basement…then it has no effect…" the man responded, "…that's why Riku still retains his memories."

"Oh…so it only effects those who enter through the front doors?" Riku asked

"Sort of…it actually only effects those with hearts from floor one through thirteen…" Marluxia explained "…besides where we're going is in the lowest most level of the basement."

"So I guess we're going to Oblivion." Sora said as Marluxia walked over and put the coordinates into the computer.

"It would seem so." Marluxia said as the Gummy ship turned and streaked off towards Castle Oblivion.

* * *

**End Chapter 17.**

Me: Well so much for that chapter.

Axel: Is it just me or are your chapters getting longer?

Me: Nope they're getting longer… (Sephiroth shoves me out of the way)

Sephiroth: Review and do not flame or else there shall be a Sin Harvest upon your souls. (Runs off)

Axel: Talk about your curse and run.

Me: (From the floor) I think he stood on my spleen.


	18. Return to Oblivion

Me: WOOT I found a copy of Circle of Fire.

Xemnas: Enough of number 8's ego stroking…Get on with the story.

Me: Sheesh keep your robes on…boy you find one cool song about one of the "coolest" (Snicker) members of Organization XIII and Xemnas is ready to go Final Form on you.

Axel: That's because he's jealous that no-one else has a song of their own…though I can't say the same for Demyx…but that's because he wrote and recorded his own…so it doesn't count.

Larxene: Hey I thought "My Sitar" by "Dr. Bombay" was his theme song (Snicker).

Demyx: I like that song but no…that is not my theme song.

Roxas: Can we get on with the story PLEASE?!

Me: Sure (Starts story)

* * *

It was going to be an overnight trip to Castle Oblivion so the group took advantage of the situation and decided to get some rest.

Auron, Kairi, Namine, and Marluxia were on the bridge while Riku, Roxas, Zexion, Fuu, and Sora were in the back.

Auron creepily was sleeping with one eye open, and was watching Marluxia carefully, he wasn't quite sure if the former lord of Castle Oblivion would turn out to be a double agent himself. But the Graceful Assassin was curled up with a rose in one hand and his scythe in the other…Roxas and Zexion both said that it was how the guy slept.

When asked how they knew this Roxas replied that he and Axel had pulled a prank on him by replacing all the flowers in his room with headless stems, the real ones were in Marluxia's "secret" green house.

Zexion explained that he had to wake him up several times with important business.

Kairi was probably the only one still awake…she couldn't sleep, there were way too many questions floating around in her head. Usually the one thing that would guarantee her falling asleep was if she looked at her lucky charm, she couldn't figure out why it did that but it was one of those drastic moments.

As she gazed at the charm Aqua's voice spoke within her mind again.

"_That's pretty…where did you get that?" _She asked

"I don't know, I've had it for as long as I can remember…I think it was something my real parents gave me when I was little." Kairi replied.

Aqua was silent for a moment, then…_"Do you remember your real parents at all?" _

Kairi thought hard but nothing came to her. "No…not even the slightest memories."

Again Aqua was silent for a moment before asking. _"Then what is your earliest memory?"_

Kairi didn't even have to think, "I remember waking up and hearing this man saying that it was a miracle that he and his wife were gifted with a little girl…I learned later in life that someone had left me at their door step with my lucky charm."

"_Where do you live?" _Aqua asked as visions of the Destiny Islands flashed in Kairi's mind.

"A place known as the Destiny Islands…it's a beautiful place. It's not real big, but it's a great place to live." Kairi said with a smile.

"_Tell me more." _"Okay…there's another island besides the main one, it's where Sora, Riku, and I played on when we were younger…it's also where our adventures first began." Kairi said as her smile got bigger.

"_How do you feel when you're there?" _"Happy…even happier when Sora and Riku are there."

"_How do they make you feel?" _"Riku makes me feel safe, while Sora…" Kairi tried to explain, "…he makes me feel like my heart feel strong."

"_You love him don't you?" _The question didn't even faze Kairi.

"I do…Riku said that he and I were just friends, and I agree…we're close but Sora and I are closer…It's the same reason Roxas and Namine are so close too I suppose."

"_Namine?"_ Aqua asked confused as Kairi explained how she lost her heart, but got it back because of Sora, but not before bringing Namine into existence.

"_I see…but what does your charm make you feel?" _Kairi paused for a moment.

"I…don't know." She asked as she looked at the charm curiously. "I feel different when I look at it, or even hold it…I feel as if there is someone watching over me I suppose."

Kairi could sense that Aqua was smiling from within.

"_You never know who or what is watching over you…You know I would ask Sora about that Crown necklace of his." _Aqua suggested as she fell silent once more.

"I will…I will."Kairi said as she finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**Meanwhile in the World that Never Was…**

Xaldin was smirking as the reborn Vexen stomped into the room.

"I see you failed to stop them." Xaldin sneered.

"Shut up you old wind bag!" Vexen cursed as Xaldin snickered.

"Enough!!" Maleficent yelled as she turned towards the shadowy figures.

"What have you to report number four?" the first figure asked.

"Something very interesting." Vexen said as the image within the glowing sphere changed to the scene where Kairi destroyed Darkside.

"So…The Princess of Heart has become a Kingdom Knight…you know what this means brother." The third figure asked as it turned towards the first.

"Yes…they will be coming here eventually…and they will be seeking the Room of Dreams won't they." The first asked. As Vexen, Xaldin, Lexaeus, and Saix looked up at the figure with confusion but didn't dare ask.

"We shouldn't hesitate…we should act now and stop them in their tracks." The second figure said as the nobodies grinned with sinister glee.

"Yes…Maleficent!!" the first figure called out.

"Yes my lords?" "Ready the troops…we march for Radiant Garden as soon as they're ready…we're going to make the thousand heartless battle look like a simple fist fight." The second figure said as the other two figures emerged from the shadows.

It was Xemnas and Ansem… (Me: Just to clarify, it's Xehanort's Heartless…not Ansem the Wise)

"…And this time…we will be victorious." Xemnas said as he turned towards the third figure.

"Indeed we shall…Indeed. We. Shall." The figure said as the three all laughed sinisterly and an army of Heartless and Nobodies began to marshal in the streets below.

* * *

Within the basement of Castle Oblivion all was silent and dark…it's former grandeur long gone.

But the darkness was interrupted by the bright light of the gummy ship transporters, and our heroes stood where the light faded.

Marluxia looked around, "We're definitely in the basement alright, I recognize the lingering stench of Vexen's old potions." He said as Zexion cringed from the smell.

"Definitely Vexen's old potions." The super-sniffer equipped nobody said as he held his nose.

"Fortunately we're not far from the sublevel." Marluxia said ignoring the nobody's comment.

"What's the difference between a Sublevel and a basement?" Sora whispered to Riku who shrugged.

"We have to go down two more floors before we reach the sublevel…this way." Marluxia said as his scythe glowed a bright pink light, allowing them to see.

As they descended Riku looked around at the very familiar surroundings and scowled. Fuu noticed this.

"Problem?" she asked.

"Huh…Oh…yeah…It's nothing I was just here a year ago that's all." Riku replied as Fuu gave him a disbelieving look.

Riku finally sighed and explained how during his time in the basement his heart was almost taken over by Xehanort's heartless because of his prior deeds in capturing Kairi as well as other atrocities. Fuu was sad to hear of his previous life, but it only made her want to stay with him all the more.

"Resist." She said finally. Again only Riku understood her.

"I already have accepted both the light and the dark…but…thank you for wanting to help." Riku said with a smile as Fuu smiled back. Roxas and Sora were about to make more kissy noises but were dissuaded by a death glare from Riku causing Fuu to blush again.

"This is it…the Room of Awakening." Marluxia said as the group came to a halt before a blank wall.

"Where is it?" Roxas asked as Marluxia held his open palm out towards the wall which glowed a bright purple and dissolved revealing a pair of double doors like in Radiant Garden. Marluxia then turned to Riku…

"Perhaps you should open the door." The Graceful Assassin said to the teenager, who summoned "Way to Dawn" and stood before the door.

Riku held the Keyblade towards the keyhole and a purplish glow appeared around the Keyblade and a purplish circle formed around the end of the Keyblade and another purple beam shot out of the end and hit the keyhole with a bright flash, the door creaked open as the light faded.

As the door opened, it revealed an empty white hallway with six of the Organization symbols on the walls instead of the prison cells in Radiant Garden. There was another set of double doors at the end of this hallway too.

Riku headed in first with Marluxia and the gang following close behind. As Riku approached the door he paused as he turned to his friends who all nodded.

Riku pushed the door open revealing not another white room but a large black room lit by the stained glass like floor, depicting three people. On the left was who appeared to be Aqua, except her hair was spiked instead of the short flat hair she was seen with. In the center was a man, who looked a few years older than Riku with brown spiky hair. No one could help but notice the third figure looked like a slightly older Roxas.

"How in the worlds is that possible?" Roxas asked as he looked at his "reflection."

Riku however turned and noticed another set of armor lying in a burial pose holding its Keyblade on the floor, only this one was a brownish red with dust covered gold trim. The Keyblade was a large bronze colored Keyblade with a cyan hand guard.

"Whose armor was that?" Riku asked as Kairi started to glow bright blue, and the armor on the floor started to glow red.

"_Mine!" _A man's voice said as the man depicted in the center of the floor appeared before them.

The man was wearing a navy short sleeve shirt with red suspenders crossing in the shape of an X across the front. His pants were tan colored and his shoes were the same boots from the armor.

"_So…I have visitors." _The man said as he looked our heroes over, _"Can't say that I'm impressed."_

"_Be nice Terra." _Aqua said as she emerged from a blue glowing Kairi.

"_Aqua? Is it really you?" _Terra said as he smiled at his former comrade.

"_Yes it is Terra, it's good to see you again." _Aqua said as she smiled back, then turned to the heroes.

"_and these…are the ones who found my armor in Radiant Garden." _Aqua said as she turned to Kairi.

"_She's a Princess of Heart isn't she? I can feel her light." _Terra asked as Aqua nodded.

"_This is Kairi…the new bearer of my armor and Keyblade." _Aqua explained as Terra's brow furrowed and was about to ask something when Aqua stopped him.

"…_And before you ask…the answer is yes…she is."_ Aqua smiled as Terra smirked.

…_this is Sora..." _Aqua said as Terra furrowed his brow again but Aqua stopped him once again.

"_Same answer…" _She said as Terra smirked and a laughed inwardly. _"…this is Sora's Nobody Roxas…I know he looks just like Ven doesn't he?" _Aqua said as Terra nodded.

"_This is Namine, Kairi's nobody..." _"Long story." Kairi interrupted as Aqua continued to introduce everyone, saving Riku for last.

"…_and this…is Riku." _As the words left Aqua's mouth Terra looked like he was stunned.

"_Riku?"_ Terra asked as Aqua nodded in a knowing way.

"_Such darkness…yet such light…how can you balance it so easily?" _Terra asked as he continued.

"_What am I saying…I know how…it's in your blood." _Terra said as the armor started to glow brighter.

"I wouldn't know…I was adopted by my parents." Riku explained as Terra smiled at the youth then furrowed his brow as he remembered something.

"_I sense that you were here in this castle before weren't you?" _Terra asked as Riku nodded.

"So were Sora, Namine, Zexion, and Marluxia." Riku explained as Terra nodded knowingly.

"_Yes I remember the feel of their presence as if it were yesterday…only your presence was shadowed by a great darkness." _Terra said referring to Xehanort's heartless.

"_If I'm not mistaken that is the same darkness that Aqua, Ven, and I fought and defeated a decade ago." _Terra said as Aqua turned towards Riku.

"_The master?" _Aqua asked confused as Terra nodded with a serious look. _"Riku what was the name of this darkness…or did it have one?" _Terra asked the teen.

"Oh it had a name…it was called Xehanort." The second the name Xehanort came out of his mouth the two specters adopted a shocked expression.

"_What…impossible…we defeated Master Xehanort a decade ago!!" _Aqua said as Sora spoke up.

"This was Xehanort's heartless we faced, not his other…we did face his nobody though…and we defeated both." Sora's explanation calmed the two slightly.

"_Do you know what happened to Master Xehanort Sora?" _Terra asked as Sora shrugged.

"_I thought so…"_ Terra said as he turned to Riku.

"_It looks like you are going to need some help…I've been sensing a growing darkness for some time now…and if I'm not mistaken, that very darkness is heading towards Radiant Garden as we speak." _Terra said as a shocked expression swept the rest of the group.

Suddenly the armor vanished from the ground and reappeared on Riku, perfectly sized for the slightly shorter teenager.

"_Riku…my armor has chosen you as its new wearer…like Aqua's armor, it houses my spirit as well…I will guide you in how to use it." _Terra said as the Keyblade appeared in place of "Way to Dawn."

"_The Kingdom of the Land Keyblade, shall serve you well…use it wisely." _Terra said as he and Aqua started fading into their respective armors.

"_Hurry to your friends…there is no time to lose." _He said as the two specters vanished. The armor and Keyblade vanished shortly afterwards.

* * *

**End Chapter 18**

Me: Well this is surely getting interesting…what will happen to the Restoration Committee? Will the heroes find out where the last of the armor is? Who is the new fourteenth member? And who is the third shadowy figure? Find out in Chapter nineteen…Darkness Rises.

Ansem: Did someone say…Darkness?

Everyone: (Sweat drop)

Me: Who let him in?


	19. Darkness Rises

Me: I'm not wasting any time…Starting Chapter 19.

* * *

On board the Gummy ship a black portal opened up on the bridge, startling an un-expecting Namine, and our Heroes burst through the portal.

"Quick set a course for Radiant Garden…" Sora said as Riku ran for the navigation computer.

"Why?" Namine asked as she quickly stopped her drawing and spun around to the controls.

"Don't ask just do it." Roxas said as Namine thought to herself _"He's been hanging around Axel way too long."_

"Coordinates set…we're on our way." Riku said as the gummy ship lurched and took off towards Radiant Garden.

"How fast can this thing go?" Marluxia asked as Namine reached for a dial kept under a class hatch with three settings on it _"Infinity, Beyond, To Infinity and Beyond."_

"Oh boy…EVERYONE STRAP YOURSELVES IN!!" Kairi yelled as everyone complied.

Namine lifted the glass and spun the dial for _"To Infinity and Beyond," _and the bridge lights dimmed as alarms started flashing, a sign over the pilot's seat lit with the familiar ding as the sign read "Please Fasten Your Seatbelts." An automated female voice spoke…

"Please fasten your seatbelts, should you feel the need to blow chunks, please use the chunk collecting paper sack behind the seat in front of you, or at the side of your seat, in case of water landing, the person next to you may be used as a floating device."

"Layman's terms…" Roxas said "In case of the very likely event of a crash landing put your head between your knees and kiss your bum…" The Gummy ship shot off faster than light, **"GOODBYEEEEEEE!!"**

* * *

**Meanwhile in Radiant Garden…**

Leon, Rinoa, Cloud, Tifa, Rufus, the Turks, Axel, Larxene, Demyx, and Luxord were all standing outside out on a balcony that looked out towards the Heartless Ansem's old castle.

Axel, Reno, Rude, Larxene, Demyx, and Luxord were discussing who would win if they let Seifer start a struggle tournament, while the others were talking about what Aqua had said about a growing darkness.

"According to Luxord, there were heartless and nobodies attacking when Lexaeus attacked them in Olympus Coliseum." Rufus said in response to an unheard question as Leon, Cloud, Tseng, and Rude looked towards the Heartless castle.

"Do you hear that?" Rude asked as everyone stopped talking…whenever Rude talks…you better listen.

"It sounds like…thunder." Tseng said as the nobodies looked at Larxene.

"Hey don't look at me." She replied as everyone started hearing a faint rumble, and headed towards the balcony rail. Suddenly Cloud pointed towards a large black line in the canyons that were moving towards the city.

"HEARTLESS!!" he yelled as he and everyone else summoned their weapons.

Larxene then ran towards a gray box on the wall, opened it up and hit a red button on the inside labeled "RED ALERT!!" Instantly an alarm started to blare and red lights started flashing all throughout the city.

"Rufus…you and the Turks head for the control room; we'll take things from here." Leon said as Rufus turned to the Turks.

"Ignore what he said…you guys get out there and fight, Merlin and I will stay here!" He said as the Turks responded in unison…"SIR YES SIR!!"

Down in the postern Seifer ordered Rai and Vivi to make sure the citizens got to a safe place, while he, Yuffie, Vincent, Barrett, and Xigbar ran out towards the bailey wall with weapons in hand…or in Barrett's case…on hand. (Me: Pardon the pun) Aerith headed out with Rai and Vivi to help them.

Back up on the balcony, Axel summoned a black portal.

"Don't stop or the darkness will overtake you!" Axel said as the other Nobodies black portaled away to the battlefield.

Cloud, Tifa, and the Turks ran through the portal, Leon was about to when he saw Rinoa still standing at the balcony's edge.

"Let's get you somewhere safe." Leon said as he grabbed her with his free hand, but she jerked it away.

"What and leave you to go and fight…a lot has changed since a year ago Squall." Now she was serious, she referred to him by his real name.

"Well what will you do?" Leon asked as she turned away and crossed her fists together in front of and away from her chest as a light surrounded her, and as the light faded Leon was shocked as he saw she had grown a pair of large angel wings. At her side was the Gunblade Lionheart and on her left arm was her blaster edge.

Leon smiled as she looked over her shoulder and winked at him then flew off, Leon turned and ran towards the portal and Axel.

"Quick question!!" Axel said as they ran into the portal together, and exited at the castle gates where Demyx had faded away after his final fight with Sora.

"…Does she have a sister?" Axel asked as they emerged.

"Not sure…" Leon said as he and the Flurry of the Dancing Flames ran off towards the battle.

In the castle Cid had just finished working on the Highwind, when the alarms went off.

"Ok Tron this is it...let's make this dag gum monster!!" Cid said as Tron brought up a number of screens showing a number of in discernable computer codes while out on the factory floor every single machine started up and a multitude of multicolored beams streaked across the chasm and in a single bright flash of light a large fully armed gummy ship floated.

"No time for a test run…Tron I need you to transfer to the Highwind's computer system." Cid said as Tron set the system to stand by and complied with the shipmasters request.

A minute or so later Cid ran onto the bridge. "All right Tron…START HER UP!!" Cid yelled as the faint whirring of machinery got louder and soon the gummy ship was airborne and flying out of the factory floor.

Xigbar was busy blasting heartless left and right from atop a ledge with Barrett and Vincent at his side, when the heartless started turning and running away.

"YEAH RUN YOU HEARTLESS (Naughty word…Me: hey this is Disney)." Barrett yelled as Vince and the Freeshooter turned to look at why they ran.

"Uh Barrett?" Xigbar said, "What?" the man said as he looked up and saw the giant gummy ship Highwind flying towards the battle with her guns a blazing…"Holy (Naughty word)!"

Xigbar shrugged and did a back flip over the ledge they were shooting from and chased after the fleeing heartless.

Vincent flew off in red cloak form ahead of the nobody as they entered a sort of leapfrog style shooting match. When the heartless got out of range for one shooter the other would fly/black portal up to right behind the back most heartless and keep shooting.

Barrett in the meantime slid down a slight ramp and strafe ran a whole line of heartless with his machine gun hands.

Elsewhere the Gullwing Trio was knocking the heartless dead.

Suddenly a behemoth heartless charged them. Yuna instinctively leapt into the air with her twin guns firing as she spun while upside down in midair with the guns aiming out to her sides, and firing like mad, she then aimed straight down at the behemoth and fired a single shot towards it and all the shots fired while she was spinning all flew directly at the large heartless which fell from the massive strike.

Rikku spotted a Surveillance robot heartless, leapt up (with Paine's help) and grabbed the flying heartless and dragged it back to the ground as it charged a sparkle ray. She aimed it at the other heartless as it fired the beam, destroying several heartless in the process. The robot escaped her grasp as the beam dissipated but was quickly dispatched by a shot from Yuna's gun.

Paine then slid down the ledge they were standing on with Yuna and Rikku in tow, and charged the main line of heartless with Barrett turning the air blue in front of it.

On another part of the field Tifa, Yuffie, and Stitch (Who had found a home with a small girl named Lilo in town during the previous chapters) were knocking heartless away as quick as they could but were quickly getting overrun. But before they knew it three Morning Star heartless flew over their heads from behind and took out about twenty heartless before blowing up.

The three looked behind them and saw Rinoa in mid air, give a quick salute then aim the blaster edge towards the sky over the bulk of the heartless army and fired the disc shaped weapon, causing a tornado to rip through their lines for a moment then dissipate.

Meanwhile in the Dark Depths, Cloud was dispatching heartless alone with his bandaged first tsurugi sword when the heartless suddenly vanished and Cloud's heart got heavy as he knew why they vanished.

He whirled around and came face to face with the One Winged Angel.

"Good to see you…Cloud." The dark man said as Clouds eyes widened…

At the front lines the remaining Committee members were taking out Heartless as fast as they could go. Luxord's card soldiers provided a major boost, as Axel hurled fireballs as well as his chakrams at the charging army.

Demyx and Larxene had discovered how effective their powers were when used together. Demyx would quickly drench Larxene with water, (without suffering for ruining her hair) and she would use both her anger from being drenched and the added conduciveness of the water and unleash a flurry of devastating attacks.

Just when they thought they were about to be over run a sudden blast of blizzard magic and a greenish shield round shield flew past them, as they turned to look they saw none other than King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy running towards the heartless.

"Nice to see you on our side Axel." Mickey said as the red haired nobody nodded.

"Heck I'm just glad to have a Keyblade on the battlefield…hey Duck!!" Axel yelled at Donald who looked at the nobody.

"What?" he asked in his traditional quack speak.

"Light me up!!" Axel said as Donald quickly cast fire on the nobody who noticeably grew stronger from it.

"THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!! BURN BABY!!" Axel yelled as he filled his chakrams with fire energy and hurled them at the army of heartless. The chakrams stopped in mid air in the middle of the army as they began to spin in opposite directions, followed by a massive pillar of fire erupting around them.

But after the blast subsided a number of white portals opened up and swarms of nobodies of all ranks flew out of them.

"What the…who invited these guys?!" Seifer asked as he and the others paled.

Suddenly a massive explosion tore though the lesser nobodies as the group looked up to see a familiar gummy ship flying over head.

The heroes appeared in a beam of light and ran towards the defensive line.

"Nice of you to join us!!" Larxene yelled as the group took up positions.

"Kairi, Riku…use the armor!!" Sora yelled as Kairi turned towards Demyx.

"Demyx, Drench me quick!!" She yelled receiving a strange look from the Nocturne.

"Do what she says DEMYX!!" Riku yelled as Terra's armor appeared around him and the "Kingdom of the Land" Keyblade appeared.

Demyx did as instructed and a large sphere of water appeared over Kairi's head and drenched her with at least a gallon of water.

"Thanks." She said as Aqua's armor appeared and the "Kingdom of the Sea" Keyblade appeared.

She and Riku then began a powerful limit break called "Colors of the Wind."

A swarm of orange, yellow, and purple leaves started swirling around the two as they stood back to back to each other then leaped into the air and simultaneously swung their Keyblades and started spinning around causing a powerful and devastating multi colored whirlwind, that started sucking swarms of heartless and nobodies into its maw.

As the heartless were sucked in the two freely flew around slashing the trapped heartless and nobodies, defeating them with each swing. As the whirlwind dissipated it coiled down towards the ground and instantly shot straight back up and shot the heartless and nobodies into the sky where they vanished in a single twinkle. (Me: You know like in anime all the time.)

After the tornado subsided the two Kingdom Knights landed on the ground smiling at each other as the rest of the crowd caught up.

Meanwhile up on the Dark Depths, Cloud and Sephiroth battled fiercely but neither showed any sign of besting the other.

"Where's the light now Cloud?" Sephiroth taunted as the loud clanging of their weapons caught the attention of the two knights and the Keyblade master, who leapt up towards the cliff ledge.

But before they could reach them, they had to block six familiar purple spears from hitting them.

Zexion saw this from the ground and snarled.

"XALDIN!!" he yelled into the air and said nobody appeared before them with Vexen, Lexaeus, and Saix standing at his side.

"Hello there Number 6" the Whirlwind lancer taunted as Zexion's face flashed with rage.

The Kingdom Knights landed successfully on the cliff ledge, but just as they did three black portals opened up and three figures flew out and knocked them off.

The three heroes landed upright, gazed up and paled at what they saw…Xemnas, Ansem, and an armored man wearing a helmet, a suit similar to Riku's dark form, and holding the latter's former Keyblade…Soul Eater.

"It can't be." Sora said as their two enemies grinned down at them.

"Oh but it is Sora." Xemnas taunted.

"Yes and I believe that your friends know why we're still around…we had a reunion with our creator." Ansem said as footsteps could be heard approaching from behind the Heartless and Nobody brothers.

The two parted and bowed as a bald old man who looked like Ansem with a short pointy beard, and his hand behind his back walked out onto the ledge.

The heroes old enough to recognize him went wide eyed and Riku and Kairi paled as Terra and Aqua's spirits appeared to their sides.

"MASTER XEHANORT?!" the current and former Kingdom Knights said in unison.

Xehanort simply smiled sinisterly and started chuckling. The chuckle evolved into an all out insane cackle as our heroes simply stood their dumbfounded.

* * *

**End Chapter 19.**

Me: Well?

Everyone: (Stunned.)

Me: I thought so…(Whips out game boy and starts playing KH:COM)


	20. The Master Revealed

Me: Again not wasting any time…Starting chapter 20

* * *

The heroes stood in shock and horror as the legendary Xehanort had finally revealed himself to be alive and unfortunately well.

Xehanort grinned as he looked down on our heroes completely ignoring the raging battle between Sephiroth and Cloud.

"So…after all these years of hiding and sending my…puppets to do my dirty work…the Kingdom Knights finally deem to reveal themselves hmm?" He laughed as his Nobody and Heartless smiled, the strange armored figure simply stood still with Soul Eater in hand and ready to use at a moment's notice.

"You mean YOU were the one who sent Ansem AND Xemnas to capture Kingdom Hearts?!" Sora yelled in surprise as Xehanort grinned once more.

"My my, aren't you the smart one…Yes, I was the one, and everyone naturally assumed that they were acting on their own accord…heh, heh, heh, pathetic fools." Xehanort said.

"It was I who instructed them on how to obtain Kingdom Hearts, I who realized the potential for both the Heartless and the Nobodies…but as you can see…" Xehanort said as his smile faded, "…It only takes ONE INSIGNIFICANT RUNT TO RUIN IT ALL!!" He yelled as the spirits of the former Kingdom Knights returned to their armor.

Xehanort paused as he noticed something about the two armored knights below, and then arched an eyebrow.

"Do you two knights realize WHY that armor chose you?" He asked as Vincent flew over towards the Knights.

"Don't SAY ANYTHING!!" he yelled to them.

"SILENCE!!" Xehanort yelled as the armored figure shot straight towards the gunman, pinned him to the ground, and then black portaled up to the cliff ledge with Vince along for the ride.

Xehanort looked at Valentine for a moment then asked. "Have we met?" Vince remained silent, but that didn't make an ounce of difference.

"Ah…now I recognize you…you're the one who was Ansem the Wise's bodyguard…Vincent Valentine correct?" Vince continued to remain silent.

"But I digress; answer the question…Why did the armor choose you?" Xehanort taunted as he turned back to the heroes.

The three looked at each other for an answer. When Xehanort noticed this, a look of joyful disbelief swept his face as he attempted to restrain his laughter.

"Wait…y-you mean to tell me that…YOU. DON'T. KNOW?!" he asked while restraining the urge to laugh. But when the three shook their heads, his restraint failed and he threw his head back and cackled.

When he finally finished laughing he looked back down at the three, and walked off the cliff, but instead of falling he merely floated down as Xemnas vanished in a black portal, while Ansem, a struggling Vincent, and the armored man stood and watched.

"It is no mere coincidence that the armor chose you two…and I sense that the next set you find will choose you as well." Xehanort said as he touched the ground and pointed at Sora.

"Well it's not like I'm going to ruin the surprise…but just some food for thought…" Xehanort said as he held up his left hand and slowly made a fist which began to glow bright blue with energy.

"…think long and hard about who gave you those precious keepsakes of your past that you carry with you…and you may find that the answer is a lot closer then you think." Xehanort snickered as he shot his hand into the air and a blast of energy screamed towards the sky.

The clouds started shifting and a large portion of the cloud started to descend. After a few seconds the three turned back to Xehanort.

"Enjoy." Was all he said as he and Ansem vanished in a black portal and the three heroes started to run towards their friends.

They looked back up to see the clouds had morphed into a humongous dragon like monster.

"WHAT IS THAT THING?!" Sora asked as Riku spoke with Terra's voice.

"It's called Bahamut, its Xehanort's favorite pet." Sora looked at his friend surprised.

"Is there any way we can…" Sora asked as Riku was suddenly knocked forward by an unknown figure.

Sora turned and saw the armored individual, having dropped an unconscious Vincent, had attacked him.

Riku got up as his and Kairi's armor vanished, and turned to Sora.

"I'll deal with him; you and Kairi take care of the Bahamut." He yelled as he raised Way to Dawn and charged the figure.

"SORA BEHIND YOU!!" Kairi yelled as he whirled around to see Bahamut's gaping maw heading straight towards him.

Sora and Kairi dodged the monster but were knocked down by its giant tail, and they both fell unconscious.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Xigbar, Zexion, Axel, Demyx, Luxord, Marluxia, Larxene, and Roxas stood facing their former allies Xaldin, Vexen, Lexaeus, and Saix.

"You're out numbered Xaldin, there's no way you can get past us!!" Zexion yelled as Xaldin smiled sinisterly.

"What…what did he say? What did it sound like to you Vexen?" Xaldin sarcastically asked the Chilly Academic to his side.

"Why I believe he said that our numbers are insignificant enough to defeat them number three." Vexen replied.

"Well…let's see what we can do to remedy that problem shall we?" Xaldin said as a black portal opened up behind the four and three silver haired figures emerged.

The first two were somewhat thin with long hair and the third was more masculine with a flat top hairdo. They were all wearing dark blue body suits, and the big one had a strange weapon on his left arm.

"Kadaj, Yazoo, Loz, nice of you to join us." Saix said as the three drew their weapons.

"Don't mention it." The first one (Kadaj) said as he drew a sword with two blades side by side called the Souba.

"We're always happy to help the Organization." The second one (Yazoo) said as he drew a short pistol sized Gunblade called "Velvet Nightmare."

"Just don't blow it or Superior will destroy what you cherish most!!" Saix threatened as the big one (Loz) broke down into tears.

"Don't talk about our hearts that way…you Meany" Loz said through the tears earning disbelieving looks from ALL of the Nobodies present.

"You do know that you're still out numbered…or are your brains so small you forgot to count?" Axel said as another portal opened in front of their opponents.

"Are they…number eight?" Xemnas said as Larxene shot Axel a look.

"You just HAD to say that didn't you Axel?" Larxene said as the rest of the group gulped…they were facing their former boss, the most powerful of them all, and their numbers were even.

"Care to surrender now?" Xaldin said as a gunshot rung out and a bullet streaked towards the head nobody.

Xemnas blocked with his Arial blades and looked in disbelief at the army of non-nobodies behind his former underlings.

"Hey Old Guy…" Seifer yelled defiantly as he Leon, and Rinoa aimed their gunblades at the nobodies "…same question."

Xemnas snarled and snapped his fingers, and a number of white and black portals opened up and swarms of lesser nobodies spilled out of them.

King Mickey and Fuu ran up next to Roxas.

"We're the only ones with a Keyblade Roxas, it's up to us to defeat Xemnas." The king said as Donald and Goofy walked up behind Sora's nobody.

"And we're with you all the way Roxas." Goofy said as he raised his shield.

"Right, let's get'em…CHARGE!!" Roxas yelled and the army of light charged forward into battle.

Demyx, Axel, and Larxene teamed up against Vexen, who tried his best to counter the three's attacks but the raw power of Larxene's lightning, Axel's natural counter to ice, and Demyx's empowering Larxene with water made it too much and the shield equipped nobody fell quickly.

"NOT AGAIN!!" he yelled as he faded from a flaming chakram rammed into his back.

"Got it Memorized?!" Axel taunted the fading nobody.

Yuna, Xigbar, and Stitch were nimbly dodging shots from Yazoo's gunblade and firing their own weapons at the silver haired man as Leon, Rinoa, and Seifer engaged Saix and Lexaeus in a bit of deadly sword play.

Zexion and Xaldin were fighting fiercely, with the memory of Ienzo's murder still fresh on Zexion's mind.

Elena and Tseng were staring down Loz and Kadaj when a loud rumble was heard and they looked towards the sky and saw Bahamut descending.

Reno was in mid charge with Rude when he noticed the descending monster and stopped, clothes lining the unfortunate Rude in the nose with his night stick in the process.

"Uh boy." Reno said as Rude climbed back up and gave Reno a frustrated look before noticing the monster.

"Oh No." Rude replied as Reno spun around and narrowly hit Rude again with his night stick as he turned and ran towards Auron with Rude in tow.

* * *

Up on a ledge Tifa was the only one not with either group as she ran down the cliff ledges leading towards the dark depths where Cloud and Sephiroth were fighting.

* * *

Roxas, Mickey, and Fuu charged at Xemnas who launched a pair of aerial blades towards Mickey and Fuu who stopped to block the shot as Roxas entered "Thirteenth Form" taking the Superior completely by surprise, and slashing him across the chest with all three of the Keyblades.

Xemnas quickly knocked number thirteen away only to come face to face with Fuu, who hurled her chakram at him and he quickly black portaled away from the flying blue weapon as she brought "Way to Dusk" down with a clang where the nobody once stood.

Mickey had anticipated the move and had fired a sphere of light at a seemingly random spot only to hit the leader of Organization XIII square in the face, knocking him over in the process.

Realizing he was outmatched against the powerful skills of three Keyblade wielders, Xemnas quickly jumped out of the way of Roxas's second attack and smirked as he black portaled back to the World that Never Was.

Seeing their leader in retreat, Saix and Lexaeus were about to retreat themselves when an energy beam fired from the central barrel of Barrett's gun blows them apart.

Saix skidded on his back and paled as the last thing he sees is Seifer with the Gunblade Hyperion running straight through him.

Lexaeus lands face down as Paine ran forward and stabbed the nobody, causing him to fade again.

Zexion dodged a blow from one of Xaldin's spears and sucked another one into his Lexicon; he had progressively deprived the Whirlwind Lancer of all but one of his lances.

"Hey Xaldin…" he asked the enraged Nobody "…what's the one thing that you hate the most?"

Xaldin sneered, he knew the answer.

Zexion smirked as he glowed a brilliant light blue and opened his Lexicon and an unending flurry of lances shot out towards the Lancer.

"LOSING A BATTLE!!" he yelled as Xaldin was run through by his own lances and faded into darkness.

Zexion stood there stoically as he knew that Xaldin wasn't truly dead, but then he turned to see his unconscious friends, Sora and Kairi, and saw the giant monster turning to finish them off.

"Oh no you don't!!" he yelled as he sent a stream of lances at the beast that turned and charged the nobody, but was stopped by a large shuriken cutting across its head.

Zexion ran out of the way and came face to face with Yuffie who smiled and winked at him.

"Can't have you becoming monster meat can we?" she said happily as Zexion smiled and launched another wave of lances at the monster who charged the two.

Before Bahamut could reach the two it's eyes went wide as it suddenly flew back towards the cliff wall as Sora and Kairi used the strength of their Keyblades to hurl the massive monster by the tail.

Zexion, Auron (Who along with Rikku and Yuna, were fighting the lesser nobodies off) and Yuffie joined the two, as the monster stood up and a large blue energy appeared in its mouth and flew up into the air ready to unleash a mega-flare down onto the battlefield.

Kairi looked at Sora and nodded knowingly, as Sora leapt into the air onto Auron's sword who catapulted the Keyblade master into the air.

Sora began to glow with energy as he flew towards the beast, he looked down to see Zexion flying up with him hold out his Lexicon for him to use as a step to help elevate himself, and flung the Keyblade master into the air. "FLY!!" he yelled as he black portaled back down.

Sora flew higher and Fuu's chakram appeared beneath his foot and he propelled himself higher, and shot a salute to the girl on the ground who smiled back at him as the chakram returned to its owner.

Then Roxas black portaled in with Oblivion and Oathkeeper crossed at the teeth as he flung Sora higher. "Up we GO!!" he said as he watched his other fly even higher.

Then he looked and saw Kairi in Aqua's armor flying towards him as she launched him even higher. "No giving UP!!" she yelled as he looked up to see the Bahamut launch its mega-flare towards him. but mere seconds before it hit, he heard everyone on the ground…including Riku, say at once in a whisper…

"You can do it…we believe in you."

The surge of encouragement caused a bright light to envelop him as he reared the Keyblade back, absorb the mega-flare, and Sora swung the Keyblade at Bahamut and cut right through it as he forced all the energy from the mega-flare back into the beast and jump as the monster fell from the sky and explode in a brilliant blue light.

Everyone cheered as they saw Sora gliding back down to the ground, and land upright.

Sora smiled at his friends but before they could do anything a bright light appeared in the sky.

* * *

Riku smiled as he saw Bahamut fall but had to return his attention to the black armored foe.

"You are supposed to be the mighty Riku?" the figure asked disbelievingly as Riku took the put down in stride and continued to defend himself.

After a few more minutes the figure leapt up and landed by a slightly wounded Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz, and the four vanished leaving a confused Riku and four Turks behind.

That is until they saw a bright light appear in the sky.

* * *

**A few minutes earlier…**

Cloud and Sephiroth, who had continued to fight regardless of the events going on, came together as their swords crashed together with a loud clang

"The light still doesn't suit you Cloud, you know it, and I know it." Sephiroth taunted as Cloud's will began to diminish.

"And you're still wrong Sephiroth!!" Tifa yelled as she ran into the Dark Depths.

"Tifa…STAY BACK!!" Cloud yelled over his shoulder.

"You know I can't do that Cloud!!" she replied as she ran towards Cloud, who continued to block the One Winged Angel's attack, and grabbed him under the arms and a bright light enveloped them both as Cloud's strength increased.

He launched Sephiroth back and stood up, as Tifa raised her hand and a portal of light opened up in the sky.

The portal caught the attention of everyone on the ground including Sora, Riku, Kairi, Roxas, Fuu, Zexion, and Auron who ran towards the bright light.

Cloud leapt up into towards the portal with Sephiroth close behind and they both flew through it.

Tifa watched as the portal started to close but before it could Sora and the gang blew past her and leapt into the portal with Zexion passing through it mere seconds before it closed completely.

* * *

**Meanwhile at the Castle that Never Was…**

Xehanort sat back on his throne with a delighted smirk, as the four formerly slain nobodies trudged in with confused looks on their faces.

"What you think that we were actually going to defeat them there on their own turf?" He bellowed with a smirk as his two "offspring" appeared at his side.

"Where is Kadaj, Yazoo, Loz, and…" Xemnas tried to finish his sentence but was cut off by his father.

"…They have gone ahead to help Sephiroth deal with the pests." Xehanort said as the Nobody fell silent.

"Will they succeed?" Ansem asked.

"No…they will undoubtedly fall to their might…but it will buy us enough time to rebuild our forces for a second attack…however number fourteen is tasked with a special mission." Xehanort said with a laugh and a nod to Ansem who smiled.

"Soon Riku will be yours once again." Xehanort said to the heartless as his laugh evolved into another cackle.

* * *

**End Chapter 20.**

Me: Next chapter we see Cloud's homeworld…stay tuned. (Cloud runs me over)

Cloud: And no flame reviews or you'll learn how it feels to get hit with a version five Omnislash!! (Runs off)

Axel: You okay man?

Me: (From floor) I wish they'd stop doing that… (Crack) OWW!!


	21. Midgar

Me: If you haven't figured it out by now, the "Kingdom Knights, Master Xehanort, and the armored foe" are all from the secret Final Mix+ trailer and upcoming game known as "Birth by sleep." I would advise watching that video just so you can get an idea of what the characters look like. You can watch it on YouTube so no worries…now before I continue… (Going into evil rant) THE NEXT ONE OF YOU TO RUN ME OVER AND GIVE THE "FLAME AND DIE" SPEECH WILL MEET A FATE WORSE THAN DEATH!!

Everyone: (Cowers)

Me: There now that that's done…onto business…Oh be forewarned this chapter contains mild blood…now on with the chapter…

* * *

The shimmering portal of light vanished as our heroes fly through it just in time.

"That was close…" Sora said as he looked around. They were in the middle of what was once a massive metropolis but now reduced to near ruin due to Sephiroth and the Heartless.

"Whoa!" was the word on everyone's mind as they looked around the ruined city, then Fuu spotted a sign on a burnt out old building.

The sign read "Welcome to Midgar."

"We have to find Cloud, if we find him we can help him defeat Sephiroth." Roxas said as the rest nodded.

"We should split up, Riku and Fuu go one Direction, Kairi and I will go another, Roxas, Zexion, and Auron, will go one other direction." Sora explained as the group nodded and split up.

"What do you suppose we'll find here?" Roxas asked the Cloaked Schemer after a while.

"With any luck someone friendly." He responded as Auron signaled for them to stop.

"Wait…I heard something." The Guardian said as they drew their weapons.

They waited for a moment before Auron turned and hurled his sword at the column of a small building and a man jumped out with a large sword from behind the column.

The man had brown spiky hair, and bore a slight resemblance to Terra in both appearance and dress except minus the red suspenders, tan pants (which the man's were blue) and armored boots. His eyes also had a strange glow similar to Cloud's.

Auron flew off towards his sword but was blocked by the man.

"Look I don't know who you are or what you're doing here, but this is not the place to be poking your nose around where it doesn't belong!" the man said as Auron stepped back a bit.

* * *

"Take it easy friend; we are not your enemy." Auron said as the man furrowed his brow.

"Prove it." "Ok…I'm Roxas, this is Zexion and he's Auron, we came from another world called Radiant Garden…" When Roxas said Radiant Garden the man's eyes lit up...well more than they were already.

"Wait did you say Radiant Garden?" the man asked as he lowered his sword slightly. Roxas nodded.

"Do you know a guy named Cloud Strife?" Again Roxas nodded.

"Is…is he okay?" "That's why we came here, we followed him here." Roxas said as the man's eyes lit up even more.

"Why is he back here?" the man asked again as he put his sword away and allowed Auron to do the same.

"He was following this guy named Seph…" "Sephiroth?!" The man interrupted and Roxas again nodded.

"What are you friends of Cloud's?" he asked.

"I guess so…we're all for him, and we want to see Sephiroth defeated as much as the next guy." Roxas said as the man lowered his head and sighed.

"Then…you don't know, do you?" "Know what?" Zexion asked.

"The truth about Sephiroth." He replied as the others looked at him confused. He paused before taking a breath and explaining.

"Sephiroth…is no mere man…he is the embodiment of Cloud's darkness…he…is Cloud's Heartless." The man explained as the three's eyes widened.

"We've got to warn the others!!" Roxas said as they turned to head back the way they came.

"WAIT!! You've got to let me come with you…if they're both here Cloud's going to need all the encouragement he can get." The man said as he caught up with them.

"Right let's go…" Roxas said as the man drew his sword again and began to follow them.

"The name's Zack Fair by the way." Zack replied as they ran.

* * *

Riku and Fuu were walking along rather quietly, usually neither one minded the silence but it was just too quiet for either of them to feel safe.

"Fuu?" Riku asked breaking the long silence.

"Hmm?"

"I was wondering…why did you decide to come with us in the first place?"

Fuu thought for a moment before looking at him and shrugging.

"Unknown…Adventure, Thrills, Danger…You." Fuu said as Riku looked surprised. He had felt strange about her ever since they met, and he couldn't figure out what it was.

"Why Travel?" Fuu asked.

"Well…I guess because it's what I need to do…I travel around to keep the light strong in the worlds I suppose…and to hide from my darkness too I guess." Riku said as his thought flashed back to a moment when he was possessed by Ansem and his mood noticeably darkened. Fuu noticed.

"Resist." She said with a smile.

"Don't worry…I won't let Ansem take control of me again." He reassured.

"Is that right?" a voice called. Riku and Fuu summoned their Keyblades and looked around.

"Have you truly let go of the Darkness? Or do you need something to shadow your judgment and block the light for you hmm?" the voice said as Riku knew who it was.

"SHOW YOURSELF!!" Riku called out.

"If you insist." The voice replied and a black streak shot out of one of the windows in a burnt out skyscraper towards the two.

Riku quickly blocked the shot but Fuu was knocked over.

Riku snarled at his opponent…the armored soldier from before, who had Soul Eater held vertical against Way to Dawn.

Riku swung backwards causing his opponent to fall over him.

"Now why didn't I think of that?" the armored man asked as he climbed up to face Riku.

"Is that all you got?" Riku said as he could feel the smirk from within the man's helmet.

"Why no…WATCH THIS!!" the man yelled as swirls of dark energy gathered around Soul Eater and the warrior hit the ground causing the ground to buckle and send Riku flying.

"RIKU!!" Fuu yelled as she watched him land on his back. She then turned to the warrior.

"VENGENCE!!" she yelled as she charged the warrior and the two started dukeing it out.

After a moment Riku came around and sat up to see Fuu and the warrior in mid-duel.

As he climbed to his feet he saw Fuu attack when she should have parried. Riku's eyes widened as he saw what came next but was powerless to stop it.

The warrior swung around and sliced her across the face with the edge of the Keyblade, causing her to fall to the ground.

"FUJIN!!" Riku yelled as she slumped over. The rage within him was so great he did what he swore he wouldn't do again.

As the sky turned black, a black portal enveloped Riku and as it dissipated it revealed him in Dark form once again.

"HEY YOU!!" Riku yelled as the warrior, who was about to deal a killing blow to the injured Fuu, turned and looked at the dark Keyblade master.

"YOU WANTED DARKNESS…" Riku yelled as he suddenly charged at him "…YOU GOT IT!!"

And their Keyblades clashed…

* * *

**Earlier…**

Kairi and Sora both were walking through the war torn metropolis, looking for Cloud and hoping to find him before Sephiroth did…that is as long as he hasn't found him before now.

"Sora?" Kairi said as she turned to the Keyblade master at her side.

"Yeah Kairi?" Sora responded in his usual optimistic tone.

"I don't think I ever asked you about this but…" Kairi started as Sora looked at her waiting for the question.

"…where did you get that necklace of yours?" "What this?" "Yes…who gave it to you?"

Sora paused before he answered.

"My mom gave it to me a few months before the islands were destroyed by the heartless. She said it was my dad's." He answered. Kairi was surprised, in all their years not once had Sora even mentioned his father. All she really knew is that Sora and his mom lived alone.

"You've never mentioned your dad before Sora…did you ever meet him?" Kairi asked as Sora shook his head.

"No, I never knew him; Mom said I was very little when he left home." "He Left?" "Yeah…" Sora then realized what she was thinking.

"OH NO it's not like that…" Sora quickly said. "He didn't leave because he wanted to; he left because he was…" Sora tried to think of the word his mother used.

"Drafted?" Kairi asked as Sora nodded.

"But before he left, he gave my mom this necklace, and told her to give it to me when I was older." Sora explained as Kairi understood all too well.

"Mom said it was during a dark time in the worlds…in fact I think it was during Terra and Aqua's time." He added.

"_He's right…I remember his father quite well…handsome son of a gun I'll give him that." _Aqua gushed as Kairi shook her head at the thought of some decade old dead woman in love with her boyfriend's father…who was probably also dead.

"Aqua says you're right, he was in the same war as she and Terra." Kairi said as Sora looked surprised…but it wasn't Kairi's answer that had him looking that way, it was two figures on the top of a very tall building.

The one lowest to the ground was definitely Cloud; they could tell by the blond spiky hair, the other was…

"It's SEPHIROTH!!" (Me: this is where the Advent Children's version of One Winged Angel would start playing)

Both of the figures looked down at the two on the ground as Sephiroth raised his fist into the air and opened it causing the sky to turn black.

Sora summoned the Keyblade and flew towards the two with one great leap.

Kairi on the other hand found herself surrounded by a bunch of large dog like pure-bred heartless.

But before the heartless could do anything a flurry of purple spears flew past her and took out the heartless. She turned to see Roxas, Auron, a strange man with spiked brown hair, and Zexion running up to her.

"Oh no we're too late." The man said, as Roxas quickly introduced Kairi to Zack Fair and vice versa.

"Yes and soon the master shall have this world's heart along with the heart of one of your friends." A calm yet cold hearted voice said.

"What the…you three again?!" Zack said as Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz appeared from one of the buildings.

"Roxas, Kairi, you two handle the Heartless. Auron, Zack and I can handle these punks." Zexion said as the two Keybearers nodded and charged at the Heartless wolves (Me: I'm calling them Shadow Hounds).

The other three raised their weapons as they charged the three silver haired men.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Sora leapt up to the top where he landed next to Cloud.

"So…the Keyblade master comes to face me once again?" Sephiroth said tauntingly as Cloud leaned over and whispered to Sora.

"You can't help me Sora, this is my fight alone." Cloud said as Sora shook his head.

"I can't do that Cloud; you've forgotten how to find the light inside of you." Sora said as he took his battle pose and Cloud looked at him slightly confused.

"Remember what you told me a year ago?" Sora asked, Cloud shook his head.

"Don't lose sight of it…" Cloud smiled slightly as he remembered that he had indeed told Sora those very words.

"But he has Sora…he's lost not only sight of it, but his entire grip on it too." Sephiroth taunted.

"You're wrong…he only needs someone to remind him how to find it." Sora said as Sephiroth's eyes narrowed on the Keyblade master.

"You don't get it do you?" Sephiroth said with a sinister smile.

"I'm not someone who embraces darkness…I exist because of Cloud's darkness…I think you know what I mean." He taunted as Sora realized what he meant.

"YOU'RE his heartless?!" Sora exclaimed as Sephiroth smiled evilly.

"So…you do understand…a pity it will be the last thing you know." The one winged angel said as he launched forward at the two with the Masamune in hand…

* * *

**Meanwhile…again.**

Riku and the warrior were fighting furiously; every time they Keyblades clashed sparks would fly off.

"The darkness suits you Riku…" the warrior said during a parried swing.

"…I don't know why you gave it up…" "SHUT UP!!" Riku yelled as he hit the warrior with a blast of dark energy, that sent him flying.

The warrior landed on the wall of a building and pushed forward, sending him shooting back at Riku, who blocked his attack and sent him flying towards a small, burnt out building with a sign on the roof that read "Tifa's Seventh Heaven." (Me: I'm assuming it's still around in this story considering meteor never happened in this universe.)

The warrior crashed through the window, and as he climbed up Riku noticed he was weakening, because he was breathing heavily.

"…You see the darkness makes you stronger, you should have never given it up." The warrior taunted as Riku realized what had happened to him.

He looked at his gloved hands, then felt a warm hand on his leg, and saw Fuu with blood coming what was left of her left eye giving him a pleading look.

"Resist." Was all she said as he threw Way to Dawn away from him, and it landed with a clang.

"What?" the warrior asked surprised. "This wasn't supposed to happen!" he yelled as Riku's dark form faded away like when a nobody faded into darkness, revealing his old basic self.

"That's where you're wrong…the darkness may give the illusion of strength, but the light grant's unimaginable power…power that you would never understand." Riku said as he started to glow with white light and both Way to Dawn and Way to Dusk appeared in his hands.

"_AT A BOY RIKU!!" _Terra said from within his mind. _"NOW LET'S GET THIS SUCKER!!"_

Riku nodded and charged the warrior, but said warrior black portaled away and onto a crumbled wall nearby.

"We'll meet again Riku…only next time you won't be so fortunate." He said as he black portaled away.

Riku watched him leave then dropped the Keyblades and ran to Fuu's side.

Fuu was smiling at him.

"Resist." She said with a smile, she was still going strong as her voice showed only the slightest sign of weakness.

"Fuu…I think I found my light." Riku said, still glowing slightly.

"Do you know where it came from?" Fuu shook her head.

"You…it came from you." He said as he smiled.

"Ever since I met you I've felt like the darkness in me has been progressively getting smaller…now I know why…you are my light." Riku said as he leaned closer to her.

"I think Sora was right…our destinies are intertwined…and it's not because of the Keyblades…" Riku was glowing even brighter.

"…it's because I love you Fujin…with all of my heart." Riku said as Fuu's smile changed to shock, she wasn't expecting him to say that, but she smiled back at him as a tear ran down from her remaining eye.

"I Love you too." She responded as she fell unconscious.

Riku could sense she was still alive, but she wouldn't be for long if she didn't get help.

He stood up and stretched out his hand creating a portal of light, much to his surprise, and carried Fuu through the portal back to Radiant Garden.

But their departure didn't go un-noticed, from the shadows an unknown figure ran out from inside the building the warrior flew out of, and ran towards where the others were fighting.

* * *

**End Chapter 21.**

Me: I never knew I could be so sappy.

Marluxia: Me neither.

Me: Oh shut up Captain Flower Power. (Sora attempts to run me over but I see him coming and give him a death glare with the Ultima-weapon Keyblade in hand…he stops, turns around, and runs back to his seat.) Ok…I will choose who gives the flame and die speech…I choose…Yuffie.

Yuffie: (Bouncing up and down) REALLY?! (Run's me over) Hey you readers! Review without flaming or face the mighty power of the Grand Ninja of Wutai!! (Steps off me) How did I do?

Me: (From floor…again) Oh I'd say about three months worth of physical therapy…ow.

Xemnas: (while dialing his cell phone) (sigh) I can get Vexen to fix that up easily with a single potion.

Me: (from floor…still) Make it fast…I'm losing the feeling in my legs. (Axel and Roxas pick me up…well more like peal me of the floor)

Larxene: Want an acupuncture treatment? (Smiles sinisterly)

Me: Well what do ya know…I'm cured. (Whispers to Xemnas) If Vexen isn't here in five minutes you're going to wish you never existed.

Xemnas: But I don't exist (Smiles…I roll my eyes and hold Ultima-weapon to his chin) Right…calling!!


	22. One Winged Angel

Me: Before I start this next chapter, I would like to make a small thank you to blackkeyblade, without her asking if Zack was going to be in the previous chapter, he probably would never have been put in…so here's to you blackkeyblade.

All: (Applause)

Me: I hope that you don't flame me for what I intend on doing with him…however I will say HE DOES NOT DIE!!

All: (Sigh of relief)

Me: So without further a dew… (Vexen interrupts)

Vexen: Hold on…one more potion. (Hands me potion)

Me: It's not some sort funky thing that will give me seven ears or six noses is it?

Vexen: Of course not… (I down the potion)…I think.

Me:

Vexen: (Slips Luxord five bucks)

Me: While…um…Sora and Roxas…write the story (Picks up Ultima-weapon) I…will be making a vacancy within the Organization's ranks…COME HERE YOU CREEPY OLD CRONE!!

Vexen: CALL THE POLICE!!

Sora: Shall we number 13?

Roxas: why yes lets... (Starts story)

* * *

Auron glared at Kadaj as the latter drew the Souba and prepared to strike.

"You're out of your league old man." Kadaj taunted as the "old man" entered his battle pose.

"You obviously have much to learn…" Auron said as he charged the youth who nearly dodged the strike.

"…age brings experience." He finished as Kadaj realized that he was in way over his head and quickly fell to the swordsman's vastly superior skills.

Zack flew through the air as he dodged and deflected Yazoo's gunshots from the latter's gunblade.

"Your efforts are futile, just give into the darkness, and you will be spared when the master robs the worlds of the light." Yazoo said as Zack didn't buy a word of it.

"Your MASTER is going down and yet you're the only one who doesn't get it." Zack said as he spun the buster sword in the air and came down with a slash that sent an energy blast towards the silver haired gunman who narrowly dodged it at the cost of his gunblade.

The gunblade fractured into two, and Yazoo's face flashed with fear as he struggled to move back from the approaching Zack Fair.

"Please…don't do this…I…I know something that you might find interesting." Yazoo said as Zack held the sword at the latter's head.

"Oh yeah? About what?" he asked impatiently as the urge to smite the man was bouncing around in his mind.

"Y-you remember what Kadaj said about…the hearts of one of their friends becoming lost to the master." He said fearfully

"Yeah…so?" "H-his name is…" Yazoo flinched as he nearly said Riku's name.

"His name is?" "…Riku." When Riku's name came out of his mouth Zack's eyes widened, and he lowered the sword and turned away.

Then he sensed he had been duped, and whirled around and stabbed Yazoo, who was about to come at him with a dagger, and the young man stepped backwards a bit before falling dead on the ground.

Zack fell to his knees, _"It can't be the same Riku can it?"_ he asked himself as the battle raged around him.

Zexion leapt out of the way as Loz sent the Dual Hound into the ground and a massive shock wave ripped the ground apart.

Zexion then got a devious plan and charged the bigger man with the Lexicon in hand.

Loz swung the Dual Hound at him but instead of hitting the nobody with a devastating blow…nothing happened.

A confused looked swept Loz's face as the nobody smirked and looked down at where Loz's arm should have been, but instead Loz's arm was inside the Lexicon which was glowing with energy.

Loz pulled his hand out but the man's pile bunker was missing. (Me: Anybody know what a pile bunker is? I sure don't)

Zexion smiled as he held his left arm out and in a swirling puff of black smoke a nobody like version of the Dual Hound appeared on his arm and he rammed it into the man who winced in pain.

"How can you…do such a thing?" Loz winced before he flew backwards.

"I have no emotions…" Zexion said coldly as the man launched backwards and flew through several solid concrete walls before hitting one at the far end that brought his life to a crushing end.

Zexion turned away with a cold stare and noticed a figure hunched down behind a pile of rubble.

* * *

Sora narrowly dodged the Masamune as Sephiroth swung it at the youth.

"You can't help Cloud, he's too far gone." Sephiroth said as Sora blocked a second strike.

"I think he just needs to remember…" Sora shoved the One Winged Angel away "…how to find the light again."

Sephiroth blocked a blow from Cloud, but the Heartless sent him over the edge of the building, but he landed on a story below, but when he landed he hit his head on a brick and fell unconscious.

Sora continued to battle the Heartless alone on the roof of the structure.

"I've thought of a wonderful present for you…" Sephiroth said as he looked towards the Princess of Heart battling Shadow Hounds on the ground.

"…shall I give you despair?" He asked as Sora knocked him towards the wall but as Sora charged towards him Sephiroth leapt into the air and Sora crashed into the wall. He quickly recovered but turned around and suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his shoulder.

Sephiroth had run the Masamune through him.

Sora looked defiantly at the smiling heartless.

"Tell me what you cherish most…give me the pleasure of taking it away." He grinned evilly as a series of visions ran through Sora's head.

Visions of everyone at Radiant Garden, everyone in every world he visited, his friends back on the Destiny Islands, Aqua, Terra, Auron, Zexion, Namine, Roxas, Riku…and most of all Kairi.

A sudden surge of energy swept through him and he grabbed the end of the sword and pulled it out of him and rammed it into the wall.

"I pity you Sephiroth…you just don't get it…" Sora said as he charged the heartless and swung, but Sephiroth just leapt into the air with Sora right behind him.

"There's nothing in these worlds I DON'T cherish." Sora said as he continued battling the Heartless.

When he heard what Sora said all the pieces clicked together is Cloud's mind, and the man's eyes lit up as he lifted himself up off the floor using his bandaged first Tsurugi to pull himself up. But as he did the bandages on the sword just fell away, revealing the shining sword beneath. With a single great effort Cloud leapt into the air.

Sora blocked a blow from Sephiroth and started to fall head first towards the ground, but as he did he saw Cloud flying up straight at him and as they came face to face as they passed time seemed to stand still and Cloud smiled at the boy.

"Thank you." He said as time sped back up and he spun his un-bandaged sword horizontally twice over his head and the sword began to glow blue, he suddenly swung the sword forward and it disassembled into seven pieces which started to float in a circle around a surprised yet fearful Sephiroth.

Cloud proceeded to grab each blade and ram the heartless one at a time until the seventh and final blade, floating above Sephiroth's head, was all that was left; Cloud flew up, grabbed it, and came down hard on the One Winged Angel. (Me: Omnislash version 5 is the move he just did)

Cloud landed upright next to an also upright Sora and caught the main blade as the other six blades embedded themselves into the rooftop around them. Cloud then looked at the heartless one last time.

"Stay where you belong…in my memories." He said as the One Winged Angel got blurry and even darker than before.

"I will…never be a memory." He said mere seconds before he threw his head back and screamed as he exploded into a rain of black feathers. With that the clouds parted revealing a white shining sun in the sky above.

It was over for Cloud…the One Winged Angel was dead at last.

Sora smiled at the blond haired man who turned and smiled back at the young boy, the widest smile that Cloud could ever muster.

"You were right Sora…I did know how to find my light…I had just forgotten…thank you." The man said as he knelt down and hugged him.

"Anytime Cloud." Sora said as he let go rose up and the two headed off the building together.

* * *

Meanwhile back on the ground the heartless had all vanished, and Kadaj, Yazoo, and Loz were the underworld's newest residents.

Kairi saw the sunlight break through the buildings and smiled as she saw Sora and Cloud emerging from a building across the way. "SORA!!" she yelled as she ran towards him with Roxas in tow.

Zexion turned away from the cowering figure behind the rubble as he saw the Keyblade master approach. "It's impossible." He said to himself and he quickly smiled as he ran towards them.

Auron was as smiling as well. _"So…the boy did it." _He thought to himself.

Amid the shouts of relief at their survival Cloud looked over and saw a familiar face.

"Zack?" Cloud said as he walked over to the man.

"Cloud." Zack replied as he approached his long time friend.

"Nice to see you smiling again." Zack said as he the two shook hands and hugged simultaneously.

"It's good to have the weight of the worlds off my shoulders." Cloud said with a smile, only for it to fade when a the pile of rubble moved slightly from what sounded like a woman sneezing.

"Who's there?!" Cloud asked as everyone drew their weapons and a woman with brown hair, glasses, wearing a tattered and browned lab coat, and a blue tee shirt, with green jeans and holding a pistol in her hand emerged.

"What the…Shera?!" Cloud asked as everyone but Zack, furrowed their brow.

"H-hi Cloud." She said nervously, but she relaxed as she got closer.

"What are you still doing here, I thought you were living in Radiant Garden with Cid?" Cloud asked as she shook her head.

"I never made it to the evacuation transport in time." She said as the others were trying to figure out just who she was and what her relation to Cid was. Zack noticed the furrowed brows and pointed it out to Cloud.

"Hmm? Oh…" Cloud laughed and then put his arm around the woman and led her to the strangers before her.

"Everyone this is Doctor and Mrs. Shera Highwind…she's Cid's wife." Cloud introduced as their jaws dropped instantly…well except for Auron's anyway.

After a moment Shera remembered something.

"OH JENOVA I ALMOST FORGOT!!" she said as she looked at the Keyblade master and his friends.

"Your friend…I can't remember his name…tall, good looking, carries a funny looking sword, white hair…" "RIKU?!" Zack and Sora both said instantly then looked at each other confused.

"Yes that's him, well he and this girl…" "Fuu?" Roxas asked as Shera shrugged.

"Well they both were attacked by this man in black armor with an equally strange sword…" their eyes narrowed as they knew who she was talking about.

"…well, the girl takes a hit to the face and your friend changes superfast into this outfit similar to the armored guy…" "WAIT…you mean Riku went into dark form?!" Kairi asked with a shocked expression.

"I guess…but after a while of fighting the suit just vanished and he started glowing with light…then the dark guy just vanished." The group started looking hopeful as they realized that Riku had found his light.

"Then he knelt down over the girl, then after a moment stands back up…opens this shining portal and carries her though it." Shera finished explaining as the group looked at each other with stunned expressions on their faces.

After a moment Auron spoke up.

"Let's assume they went to Radiant Garden…if that's so…how do we get there?" Auron said as Zexion just rocked on his feet with his hands behind his back, and humming no particular tune with a smile on his face.

"I assume you know how Zexion?" Roxas asked.

"Yep…" Zexion said as he stretched out his hand and a black portal opened and the group started heading for it.

Roxas and Sora were the last ones to step through when Roxas stopped.

"What's wrong?" Sora asked his nobody.

"I…I think I figured out where the last of the armor is." Roxas said as Sora turned completely around to face his nobody.

"Really where?" He asked eagerly.

"You're not going to like it." Roxas said but Sora didn't care.

"Tell me anyway."

"In the World that Never Was." Roxas said as Sora paused for a moment then grabbed Roxas by the wrist and dragged him though the portal.

* * *

**End Chapter 22**

Me: Well Vexen has learned his lesson… (Looks over at a beaten and bruised Vexen)…and luckily for me his potion was nothing but blueberry cool aide.

Larxene: (Ahem) S double T…

Me: Yes?

Larxene: Wasn't some of this chapter a knock off of the Sephiroth battle in Advent Children?

Me: (Sarcastically shocked) No…I never knew.

Larxene: Than disclaim it!

Me: Oh yeah…I do not own any of the Final Fantasy characters or movies…especially Advent Children. (See's Riku charging at me to run me over, I glare at him with Ultima-Weapon in hand, he turns and runs away.) Now where was… (Sora runs me over from the other side)

Sora: Review and don't flame or Riku and I will kick your butts!! (Runs for his life)

Me: (From floor) Not again.

Axel: You're really having a bad day aren't you?

Me: (From floor…still) shut up Axel.


	23. Mystery Solved

Me: Quick clarification, Xemnas is not in the black and white robes from the end of KHII. He's in the basic black robes. The reason is because he lost his massive powers over nothingness when he faded.

Xemnas: Curses…I love that robe.

Saix: We know you do sir.

Me: (Rolls eyes) Now in this next chapter a lot of questions are going to be answered, including the Kingdom Knights of old and their connection to Sora, Kairi, and Riku.

All: (Drools with anticipation).

Xemnas: Well then get on with it.

Sora: Yes get on with it.

All: **YES GET ON WITH IT!!**

Me: Oh I hate it when Monty Python sneaks in…oh well… (Starts story)

* * *

As Sora and Roxas ran through the portal back onto Ansem castle's landing pad, they saw Donald and Goofy waiting for them.

"Donald! Goofy!" Sora yelled as the three came together in a group hug.

"It's great to see you Sora." Donald said in quack speak.

"It's great to see you guys again too…any luck with restoring the damaged worlds?" Sora asked as the two nodded.

"Yup we've helped restore four of them." Goofy replied.

"Uh, Sora." Roxas said placing a hand on his other's shoulder.

"Huh?" "Riku?" Roxas reminded as Sora remembered.

"Oh right, guys has Riku and a girl in blue been through here?" Sora asked as the two looked each other.

"Yeah but uh…" Goofy said as the King interrupted, from the doorway.

"Perhaps you better see for yourself Sora." The king said with a saddened face as Sora and Roxas ran off.

* * *

In the medical ward of the Castle, Riku was pacing like mad with his hands behind his back, as he waited impatiently for news on Fuu.

"Need some company?" Zexion asked as he, Auron, Namine, and Kairi, entered the waiting room.

Riku nodded, without looking at them.

A moment later Seifer, Rai, and Vivi entered in.

"How is she?" Seifer asked removing his ski-cap to reveal a mullet similar to Demyx's only shorter.

Riku only shrugged and continued pacing.

From the door way, Cloud and Zack peered in at them.

"I don't believe it…" Zack said as he looked at Riku, "He's grown so much…why the last time I saw him was when his…" Cloud quickly held up his index finger to silence the man.

Cloud then leaned over and whispered into his ear. "He doesn't know yet…he has to figure it out for himself."

"Well, so long as I don't name names he should be fine…shouldn't he?" Zack said as he turned to the spiky haired blond.

"Cloud I haven't seen him since he was a toddler…he deserves to know that at least one member of his family is still alive." Zack said as Cloud resigned from the argument and finally nodded in approval, but before Zack headed in, Cloud grabbed his arm.

"Just don't answer any questions about his parents." Cloud said as Zack nodded understandably.

Zack headed in but before he could approach Riku the O.R. doors opened and Merlin, Rinoa, Tifa, and Elena walked out in scrubs.

"Riku, my lad you will be pleased to know that young Fujin will be making a full recovery." Merlin said as Riku and everyone else breathed a sigh of relief.

"However her left eye is history, there was nothing we could do to save it." Elena said as Xigbar, who was standing in the doorway walked in and pulled a small white plastic wrapper out of his pocket and handed it to Riku.

"Here, give her this…it's a special eye patch…it's been empowered so she can see as if her eye was still there when she wears it." Xigbar said as he snickered slightly, "How else do you think I managed to keep my nickname?"

Riku took the packet, smiled, and nodded. He then turned to Merlin.

"Can I see her?" he asked as the Wizard nodded.

"Here I'll show you where she is." Tifa said as she led the teenager into the Post-Op. Ward.

(Me: It adds more ambience if you have the soundtrack to Re: Chain of Memories and are playing Namine's theme repeatedly while you read this part.)

After a passing a few doors Tifa told Riku to wait outside for a moment as she checked to see if she was decent.

"Ok, you can come in now." Tifa said after a moment, and Riku walked in.

"You have a visitor." Tifa said as Riku rounded the corner, and saw Fuu with a large white bandage over her left eye. But that didn't matter; she was alive, and healthy, and that was all that mattered to him. Tifa smiled as she ducked out quietly and returned to the waiting room.

Riku moved to the side of her bed.

"Hi." He said as they smiled at each other.

"Hey." She replied.

"So…how are they treating you?"

"Great."

"Good…oh uh Xigbar got you something." Riku said as he handed Fuu the eye patch. Fuu quickly un-wrapped it and smirked at the eye patch before donning it. Instantly she noticed her 20/20 vision had been restored.

"Riku?" she asked as she closed her right eye and moved her hand around in front of it and grew even more startled.

"I meant to tell you it's a magic eye patch...Xigbar uses one so he can get the bull's-eye every time.

"Every time?" she asked as if she knew better.

"Well…almost every time." He replied with a smile as he slowly leaned in.

"I wanted to…" but before another word could come out of his mouth she grabbed him by the collar and kissed him smack on the lips.

The two didn't part for a while…until.

"Whoops wrong room ya' know." "Oh shut up Rai." Seifer said as he Rai, and Vivi walked in and the two acted like nothing happened.

"Oh please, like the entire world doesn't know about you two already?" Seifer said as the two looked knowingly at each other.

"So?" Fuu asked in a "so what" manner.

"Well…if he ever does anything to hurt you in any way? You know who to turn too." Seifer said as Fuu nodded.

"I think I'll leave you four alone for a while." Riku said as he turned to leave but was grabbed by the shoulder and received another kiss from Fuu before he left with a smile. (Me: this is where the music would end.)

* * *

Riku was standing on the balcony as his mind wandered…he was at peace, but he did notice the foot steps behind him.

"If you make so much as one kissy noise Sora I'll…" Riku whirled around and dropped off mid-sentence as he saw Zack standing behind him.

"Oh sorry I thought it was a friend of mine." Riku apologized as Zack smiled.

"It's ok Riku." He replied as Riku gave him a look.

"How did you know my name? Oh wait Sora or someone else probably told you." He replied as Zack shook his head, and in his mind Terra spoke up.

"_Well well, Zack Fair…I haven't seen him in a long time." _Terra said as Riku shook the voice out of his head.

"No I knew your name even before I saw you." Zack said as he smiled and knelt down to the teenager's level.

"Really? I guess you must have seen me before." Riku said.

"No, I knew you when you were a kid, nay a toddler." Zack said as Riku narrowed his eyes at the man.

"I have no memory of you." Riku said as he turned away.

"Your favorite colors are white, blue, and yellow, you dislike carrots with a passion, and you have a birthmark on your bum shaped like a lowercase letter R." Zack said as Riku went wide eyed, summoned "Way to Dawn," and pointed it at the man.

"How do you know that?" Riku asked through clinched teeth.

"Because I changed your diapers more than once, not to mention fed you, and make sure you didn't get into any trouble as a baby." Zack said as Riku continued to hold the Keyblade at the man's chin.

"Then why don't I remember you?" Riku asked, as Zack sighed, unsure how to answer.

"Because you were old enough to remember your family…" Zack said with a serious face, as Riku paused.

"My Family?" Riku asked confused, "What do you know of my family?"

Zack wanted to say but he knew he couldn't.

"More importantly…why do I not remember them? Why do all of my earliest memories begin at age five?" Riku asked as Zack sighed, that he could answer.

"Because we had to erase your memories…knowing who your family was could have put you, me, and them in serious danger." Zack said as Riku lowered "Way to Dawn."

"So…is there…any way to get those memories back?" Riku asked.

"Maybe…your old enough now, and it would probably be for the best if you found out those memories anyway." Zack replied.

"By the way…how do you know me again?" Riku asked

"I thought I had mentioned it before…we are cousins, my parents died about a year before you were born, I was five when you were so that made me ten when you…had to lose your memories." Zack said as Riku was surprised.

"Well then…cousin Zack….let's see if we can't figure out how to get those memories back." And they ran into the castle together.

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

After everyone had heard that Fuu survived her encounter with the armored warrior, everyone on the restoration committee met in a recently restored assembly room, courtesy of the Organization XIII cleaning crew.

Everyone but Zack and Riku were there, however Fuu was watching on a simulcast television from her hospital room.

Leon was standing on a platform in front of a large crystal ball as he explained their plans to attack the World that Never Was.

"Here's the plan…" An image of the nobody world appeared with a large fleet of white box shaped gummy ships floating around it.

"We need to get Sora and his friend's gummy ship past this blockade into the world where they will attempt to locate and rescue the others of Organization XIII's members." Leon explained,

"Once the others are rescued and brought aboard one of our ships, Merlin will then proceed to place a special spell on them that will prevent the nobodies from being reborn." He continued as Merlin nodded.

"After that, we will need to stop the Organization members and especially their leader…Master, now Lord Xehanort. However there is one thing that has to be done before we go after the leaders, and to explain that I give the floor over to Roxas and Zexion." Leon said as he stepped down and the other two stepped up.

"The only way we can hope to win against Lord Xehanort is if all three Kingdom Knights are present, and we have reason to believe that the third and final suit of armor is within the Castle that Never Was." Roxas said as a diagram of the castle appeared within the crystal ball and Zexion took over.

"I was present at the castle's construction, I even drew the designs for it, so I know everything there is to know about this castle…except for this room here." Zexion said as he pointed to a room on the very bottom of the castle.

"This was not in the original blueprints; it was added at the last minute without my knowing about it…then I remembered these…" Zexion said as the image shifted to a large pair of double doors exactly like the ones in the Room of Sleep and the Room of Awakening.

"Roxas was the first one to notice them, but neither of us could remember where they went to until after Sephiroth's defeat. Roxas noticed that every time he saw these doors was in the basement of a castle, and that they were all castles visited or owned by Xehanort, Xemnas, or Ansem." Zexion explained.

"We found the Room of Sleep here, Marluxia showed us the Room of Awakening in Castle Oblivion, and Zexion and I both remember seeing these doors in the Castle that Never Was." Roxas said as Sora raised his hand.

"Yes Sora?" "So what's this room called anyway?" "It's called the Room of Dreams." Zexion replied.

Xigbar suddenly shot his hand up excitedly. "Yes…Xigbar?" "I remember Xemnas talking about a Room of Dreams before you, Roxas, left us, saying that you reminded him of a 'friend' in a Room of Dreams."

Suddenly Kairi started to glow a bright blue and she started to speak with both her and Aqua's voice.

"_That must have been Ven he was talking about. Ven was the Kingdom Knight of the Sky, he Terra and I_ _were the ones who first erased Master Xehanort's memories."_ The two said in unison, _"Ven and Roxas look almost exactly alike, except Ven looks only a few years older."_

"So that's why you called him Ven the first time you met him." Sora said as Kairi/Aqua nodded.

"Gosh…I wish I had remembered him from long ago, I traveled with the three when I was apprenticed to Master Yen Sid." The King Mickey said as Kairi/Aqua smiled at him, then she turned to Auron.

"_And __you__ should have remembered us Auron after we helped you and Yuna defeat Sin!"_ Kairi/Aqua said as everyone turned to the silent guardian.

"I never said I didn't remember…I thought it was best if I didn't speak." Auron said as Riku and Zack entered and Riku, who had heard everything since Mickey confessed to knowing the Kingdom Knights before, started to glow red and speak with both his and Terra's voice.

"_You always were a quiet one Auron."_ Riku/Terra said taking Zack by surprise.

"_But let's not forget about Vincent Valentine."_ Riku/Terra added as everyone turned to the tall man in red and black in the back of the room who desperately wanted the attention diverted away from him.

"_He was with us until the very end, and not once, after all the opportunities we gave him, did he say anything."_ Riku/Terra said as Kairi/Aqua turned to face her comrade.

"_Now wait a minute he told Kairi he knew me, and gave her a basic idea about what I went through."_ They said as Riku/Terra crossed his arms.

"_What because you're her mother?"_ Riku/Terra said and then quickly clamped their mouth shut.

Everyone was wide eyed.

"Ho…ly… (Naughty Word)" Sora said as Aqua's Specter appeared beside the stunned Kairi.

"My mother?!" Kairi asked as Aqua couldn't even look her in the eye.

"_Yes…I am your mother Kairi."_ She said reluctantly, and then glared at Terra's recently appeared spirit, as Zack fainted.

"_THANKS FOR BLABBING THAT ROCK HEAD!!" _she yelled as Terra buried his head in his hands.

"_How would you feel if I revealed that you were Riku's father?!" "WELL YOU JUST DID!!" _He immediately yelled back as Aqua realized her mistake, and Riku joined his cousin and fainted.

"Clean up, aisle five" Axel said as he nodded to Demyx who quickly splashed some cold water on the two and they woke up quickly.

"You're Riku and Kairi's parents?!" Sora said as the two specters turned to look at the spiky haired boy.

"_Yes we are…well I'm Riku's dad, Aqua is Kairi's mother, and Ven is your dad…oops."_ Terra said as Sora froze and everyone's jaws dropped.

"_Oh you are unbelievable…you just can't keep a secret can you?" _Aqua said as Terra started to smack his head repeatedly.

"How…is…that…possible?" Sora said with every ounce of brain power he could spare as it was going crazy trying to register the revelation.

"Yeah how is that possible?" Riku asked.

"_Well sit down and we will explain." _Aqua said as everyone gathered around.

* * *

**End Chapter 23.**

Me: Well?

Everyone: (their jaws are scraping the floor)

Me: Uh huh… (Returns to KH: COM)…HA!! take that Vexen.


	24. Hard Decisions

Me: WOOT double update!! (Ahem) Now this next chapter I intend to sort of use as a sample for a prequel fic of Birth by Sleep I plan on writing when I finish this one…so if I do decide to write said prequel, don't be surprised if you see an exact copy of what's written here in a few places…hey I'm the author I can steal from myself. (Smiles sinisterly)

Sephiroth: GET ON WITH THE STORY I WANT TO KNOW!!

Me: Sheesh keep your wing on…oh be forewarned that this could be quite a tear jerker, so have a box of tissues ready… (Starts story)

* * *

**10 years ago…in Midgar.**

A ten year old brown haired boy stomped down the hall towards the family room, and glared at the equally brown haired man reading a newspaper.

"Uncle Terra!" the boy yelled as the man behind the paper looked around the paper and paused as he saw what looked like a carrot in his hair.

"Let me guess, Riku won't eat his carrots again?" Terra sighed.

"Yeah and the brat threw them at me, yelling how much he hated them." The boy yelled as Terra rolled his eyes and walked into the kitchen to see a small five year old white haired boy grinning innocently.

"Riku...why did you throw your carrots at cousin Zack?" Terra asked the boy as he leaned on the door post with his arms crossed and the paper folded up in his hand.

"Because I don't like them." Riku said and continued to smile innocently as his father looked at him shaking his head.

"Riku…eat your carrots." He said calmly.

"But daddy!" Riku pleaded.

"No Riku, if you want to grow big and strong like me, you need to eat your carrots." Terra interrupted before the child could say anything more.

"But they're gross daddy." The child whined but Terra held firm (Me: see if you can catch the pun)

"Eat the Carrots." He said as Riku pouted and held up a stray carrot slice off the plate, then looked at it like it was poison.

"If you eat it quick it won't be so bad." Terra advised, as Riku quickly ate it and instantly grabbed his Sippy cup filled with apple juice and gulped it down quickly, earning as smirk and a silent chuckle from his father.

"There was that so bad?" Terra asked his son with a smirk as he knew the answer.

"I…am going…to die." Riku said as his father laughed.

"No you're not…ZACK come help your cousin clean up in here." Terra yelled as the latter entered having gotten the carrot slice out of his hair, and did as he was told.

Terra smiled as he walked back down the hall to the family room.

It had been five years since his wife's death but her legacy lived on in their son Riku, and he was so much like his late wife in more ways than one. Before that his life had been darkened with the death of his sister and her husband in a reactor explosion a year before Riku was born, but on the plus side his nephew Zack had come to live with them.

But when Riku was born his life was darkened yet again when his wife died shortly after giving birth. Now Riku was all he had left of her save, for a few pictures and some jewelry. Zack was all he had left of his sister too. He prayed that the three of them would never part.

After a while he saw a bright light appear in the house and quickly dissipate. He quickly lowered his paper and saw a man in a grey pin-striped suit with a tri-barreled gun in his hand, accompanied by a short round eared creature wearing, a black with white trimmed shirt and matching pants with large yellow shoes, and holding a strange blue, white, and yellow rod in his hand.

"WHO ARE YOU?!" Terra bellowed as he entered a form of battle pose.

"Gosh uh didn't mean to startle ya, the name's Mickey Mouse, and this is Vincent Valentine, we need your help." The creature said as a pair of eyes appeared from around the corner.

"My help?" Terra asked confused, "With what, I'm just a simple office manager, what could I possibly…" but before he could finish his sentence a strange long brown key shaped object appeared in his hand.

"Wha…what is this?" Terra asked as he looked at the strange object.

"It's called a Keyblade, and it has chosen you to be its wielder." Vincent said.

"A what?" "A Keyblade, we will explain later, but we have to seek out the others first." Vince replied as Terra noticed two pairs of eyes peering around the corner.

"Zack, Riku, get out here." Terra said as the two walked in.

"Gosh, I guess that's why the Keyblade chose him." Mickey whispered to Vincent, who grunted in agreement.

"Well I'm not going anywhere without these two." Terra said as the two kids got behind him.

"Well…they can go with you for now, but they won't be able to go with you on your mission." Vince said, as Terra's face turned red.

"Mission WHAT MISSION?" he yelled as all five of them vanished in a burst of white light.

* * *

**Later…on the Destiny Islands.**

A young brown haired woman knocked gingerly on the white door of a nice small island cottage with a small brown spiky haired four year old, holding her hand as he squirmed wanting to get away.

"But mommy, I don't want to play with Kairi." "Why not sweetie?" the woman asked.

"Because she's a girl." The boy replied as his mother laughed.

"Oh Sora." she said as the door opened and a woman with spiky blue hair with a red headed girl sucking her thumb in the woman's arms appeared.

"Oh hi Lulu…" the woman said as she looked down to see a single spike of brown hair.

"…and hello to you too Sora." She said with a smile.

"H-hi miss Aqua." Sora said as he peeked around his mother's leg and the red head looked down at him and took her thumb out of her mouth and smiled at the boy.

"Hi Sora!" the girl said as Sora quickly ducked behind his mother again. The red head then looked past and saw a man with blond spiky hair walking down the street.

"Hi Mr. Ven!!" the girl waved.

"Oh hello Kairi…Aqua…dear…Sora why are you hiding behind your mother's leg?" Ven asked as he walked through the white wooden fence gate surrounding Aqua's home.

"Hey Ven, how's life?" Aqua asked as the blond walked up.

"Just great, the shop has been going well...especially with the Paopu fruit in season…You?" Ven asked.

"Oh…staying busy." "Best way to stay out of trouble huh?" Ven joked as Aqua smirked.

"Ven?!" Lulu said as Aqua put Kairi down, who promptly started chasing Sora around the yard.

"What? We've known each other since high school." Ven replied with a grin, that only someone of Sora's heritage could pull off.

"You two want to come in or just stand on the porch all night?" Aqua asked.

"No thanks…someone has to watch these two…and make sure Sora doesn't get stuck if he hides in the tree again." Ven said as he watched Kairi swat at a brown spike of hair behind a bush.

Ven had everything, a job, a wife, a son, and his best friend from high school lived right down the street from him. On top of that he was a respected member of the community and knew almost everyone on the island.

Aqua's life was similar but just without the husband, he had mysteriously vanished in the night a month before Kairi was born and never came back. She worked at the diner down the street from Ven's shop too; her father was the town banker and gave her the house, along with his small yet sizeable fortune, when he died. Kairi was her lifeline, without her, she would never feel whole.

Ven felt the same way about his wife Lulu and his son Sora.

Almost immediately after Ven finished his sentence he, Lulu, Aqua, Sora, and Kairi vanished in a bright flash and appeared onboard a strange mechanical vessel.

* * *

"Welcome aboard ya'll," a man in his mid twenties with a cigar hanging out his mouth said as the adults looked around confused.

"What the…where are we…who are you?" Ven asked as he and Aqua glared at the man.

"Yeah what's with you people abducting us like this?" a man with brown spiky hair asked.

"Who are you?" Aqua asked as she entered a battle pose and a strange blue sword like object appeared in her hand.

"Aqua…where did you get…" Ven asked as another yet different colored object appeared in his hand.

"You too huh?" the man said as Lulu quickly checked for the kids, and found them looking at a boy with white hair and a much older boy pouting in a corner.

"Where are we?" Aqua asked.

"Yer on board a Gummy ship…nice ain't it? The name's Cid Highwind." The man said turning around in his seat and pressing a button on the console next to him.

"Oh golly, sorry about that, it seems that Cid beamed you up instead of beaming us down." Mickey said as he ran towards the group.

"Who…or what are you?" Ven asked, as Mickey was followed by Vincent and an old man in blue robes, and a tall pointed blue hat with white stars on it entered close behind.

"His name is Mickey Mouse, and he is my apprentice…this is Vincent Valentine, you have already met young captain Highwind and Terra." The old man said as he approached, and everyone there could sense his power emanating from him. "My name is Yen Sid, and I am in need of your help."

"Our help…I'm just a shop owner…" Ven said, "…and I'm a waitress," Aqua added, "…and I'm an office manager…what help could we possibly provide?" Terra added.

"More than you know." Yen Sid said as the four listened to him explain about his former apprentice, a man named Xehanort, had disappeared with his own apprentice into the other worlds and that there was a growing darkness in the last world he was known to have visited and was already consuming the worlds he had visited before. He also explained that the weapons they carried were called Keyblades, and that they chose them to be their wielder because of their hearts.

"So you need us to find your apprentice?" Ven asked.

"The guy catches on quick." Cid whispered to Vincent.

"Yes, the Keyblades have chosen you not only for your hearts, but because they believe you to be the most qualified." Yen Sid explained.

"Most qualified? What is this, a job offer?" Terra asked.

"If you choose to view it that way." Yen Sid replied.

"Ok say we choose to accept this mission, what about them?" Aqua said as she pointed towards the kids who were being entertained by Mickey, who was performing magic tricks.

Yen Sid sighed he knew that it wouldn't be easy, but he could sense that the three were thinking about the people who were suffering at the hands of the darkness.

"I'm afraid…for their own safety sake…they mustn't come with you…including your wife Ven." Yen Sid explained, their hearts sunk, the thoughts of being away with them for a while, was too much.

"What about Zack and Riku? They have nowhere to go." Terra said.

"And what if the darkness learns about them somehow? Will they be safe" Aqua asked finally.

"Yeah if they go around and say that their parents, or uncle are on some great quest to save the universe and the wrong people hear that, they could try and hurt them." Terra said as Ven came up with the most drastic yet safest solution.

"Erase their memories." "WHAT?!" the other two yelled.

"It's the only way to keep the darkness from using them as bait or leverage, and I would rather have my son not knowing that I exist than have him dead." Ven said as the two realized how desperate the darkness would become if it became threatened.

"Hey I'm not having my memory erased uncle Terra…I won't tell and I can take care of myself!" Zack said as Yen Sid sensed that the boy was right.

"Pull a tree from the ground by the roots, and it will die, but cut a tree down at the trunk and it will grow back with help from its roots…Zack must be the roots for Riku's memories."

"So they need something to remind them of us." Ven said as he looked at his chest at a necklace shaped like a crown. He took the necklace off and held it in his hand for a moment as Aqua fished in her pocket and revealed a star shaped, flower like charm.

"This shall be Kairi's roots." Aqua said as she looked at her daughter, with a tear running down her face.

"…and this shall be Sora's." Ven said as he held his crown necklace out and looked at the floor.

Yen Sid sighed with a heavy heart; he hated this part of being a wizard. He then turned to Cid and nodded and the man silently beamed the new Keybearers, their families, Mickey, Vincent, and the wizard down to the islands below.

* * *

**Later…**

"Will you ever come back?" Lulu asked Ven.

"I wish…I wish I knew." Ven replied, then turned to the Wizard.

"She won't forget too will she?" Ven asked as Yen Sid shook his head.

"No…she must be the largest of all roots, in case the others don't succeed." He replied.

"I'll never forget you Ven." Lulu said as a tear ran down both of their cheeks.

"I promise that I will never forget you, and definitely not Sora." He replied

"I'll watch after this…" she said as she took the crown necklace from his hands, "…and I'll give it to him when he's old enough."

"Be brave…" she said finally. "You too…" Ven said as he knelt down to Sora.

"Now…" he said fighting off a tear, "You be good now…you're the man of the house now…can I trust you with being good for your mom?" Ven asked the boy.

"You bet daddy." Sora said with a smile.

"At a boy." Ven said as he stood up.

"Now I want you to be a good girl…and don't be mean to your new mommy and daddy ok?" Aqua said. Kairi nodded quietly as they approached a house next to Sora's then stopped when they reached the stoop.

Aqua knelt down to Kairi and handed her the charm.

"Don't lose this…it is your only link to me…and me to you." Aqua said as she paused for a moment to keep herself from crying.

Kairi nodded as she took the charm and Aqua pulled her into a hug and kissed her on the forehead. She then stood up and walked slowly back to the group as Kairi magically rolled into a little ball and fell asleep on the door step.

"Now be a big guy, and don't go around and get yourself killed, ok?" Terra teased the brown haired boy who was fighting the urge to cry, until he eventually failed.

"I don't want to lose you too uncle Terra." Zack said as he wrapped his arms around his uncle's waist.

"I can't promise that you won't…but until your old enough you can stay with Cloud Strife and his parent's…they will take care of you." Terra reassured as the boy stepped back and nodded.

"Now Riku, I hope that…no I know that we will eventually see each other again…one way or another we will see each other again." Terra said as Riku nodded with a sad face, and looked at the tall building that read "Destiny Island Adoption Agency."

"I don't want you to go…" Riku said as he hugged his dad who, despite swearing he wouldn't cry, cried with a smile as he knew his son would be safe.

"But I have no choice…and who knows, maybe one day you will grow up and have a bunch of amazing adventures." Terra said as the boy released him finally, and took his cousin's hand. As Terra rose and turned to see his new friends joining together with Yen Sid.

"What about the town?" Ven asked. "They will surely notice that we're gone."

"The spell I will cast will cause only Lulu and Zack to remember you three, and all mention of you will vanish or be replaced…except for the 'roots' you left." Yen Sid assured.

Mickey looked up and saw Vincent was crying.

"You too pal?" "Yeah…me too." He replied.

"We'll return one day Lulu…it's a promise." Ven said as Mickey twirled his hand and the three Keybearers, plus Mickey and Vincent vanished in a flash of light, leaving only Yin Sid who waved his hands and his hat glowed a bright blue as a large burst of magic covered the island and he vanished instantly.

Leaving only Lulu and Zack as the only ones still there who remembered them.

* * *

**Present Day…**

"_And the rest is history…" _Aqua said as everyone including Auron had tears in their eyes. Though Axel had steam coming from his eyes because his tears evaporated the instant they touched his skin.

"Wait a second…how did Zack get back to Midgar?" Riku asked as everyone arched an eyebrow and looked at the man.

"_Well Zack?"_ Terra asked.

"What you're the one who picked me up and brought me there uncle Terra." Zack said as Terra smacked his head.

"_Oh yeah I did do that…duh." _Terra said as Aqua rolled her eyes.

"So…if these were supposed to restore our memories…why don't we remember anything yet?" Sora said as he and Kairi both took out their respective "roots."

"Well…" Mickey said as he approached, "I can answer that…It's because you have to all be reunited with your armor and your root…that means we need to find Ven's armor for it to work."

"Uh problem!" Axel interrupted, "Unless anyone hasn't noticed but Ven's armor is in the World that Never Was…and there's a massive armada waiting to blow us from the sky if we try to get past them…" Axel said as everyone realized that he was right.

"…we are outnumbered and out gunned." The Flurry of the Dancing Flames finished as Cid smirked.

"That's what you think fire head." Cid said as everyone looked at him confused.

"You have an ace up your sleeve don't you Cid?" Leon asked as the shipmaster smirked and headed over to the crystal ball and an image of a fleet of gummy ships parked outside Ansem castle appeared. Everyone's eyes widened.

"Ladies and gentlemen I give you my secret project for the past few days." Cid said as Sora jumped up onto the stage.

"Then it's settled…we are going to take that armor by force, and keep Xehanort from Kingdom Hearts once and for all…now who's with me?!" he asked.

"Hey, where you go I go." Riku said as he crossed his arms with a smile.

"IN!!" Fuu said via the TV set.

"You have to ask?" Roxas said.

"Hey I've been with you this far." Zexion said with a smile.

"Like I aided your father I shall aid you…where you lead I will follow." Auron said as he arose.

"I swore I would never let you go on another adventure without me…and I'm sticking to that promise." Kairi said with a nod.

"Could you use some shmuck like me?" Zack said with a smile.

"You bet Zack." Sora said as he turned to Donald, Goofy, and the King.

"What about you guys?" "Aww, you gotta ask?" Goofy said as he saluted. "We're with you Sora!" Donald said, "Count me in too pal!" the King said summoning his Keyblade.

"I suppose I could help out." A voice said as they turned to see Vincent walking forward, with Cerberus in hand. Kairi and Aqua both smiled at him as he holstered the gun.

"Hey!!" Axel said as he black portaled over to Roxas, "Can you use a pyro like me?"

"You bet Axel." Sora said as one by one everyone pledged their support to the heroes.

"You're going to need something more than numbers and firepower to win Sora." A voice from out of nowhere said and instantly in a puff of smoke stood the mighty wizard himself…

"**MASTER YIN SID!!"**

"Yes, I have come to lend whatever support I can." The wizard said as the group turned towards Sora.

"Well what are we waiting for?" he asked as they all charged out for the gummy ships.

"Get ready Xehanort because we're coming for **YOU!!**" Sora said with a smile.

* * *

**End Chapter 24.**

Axel: Oh ho, this is gonna be awesome!!

Me: It sure will. (To readers) Tell me what you think of this chapter…if you have any suggestions for the flashback section feel free to tell me…I will accept flames this time, especially if it's regarding Terra, Ven, or Aqua's occupations.

I previously asked the readers to choose who they wanted to be Sora's mom...the original charicter was an OC named Jackie.

After a vote of 2/0 Lulu from Final Fantasy X was chosen...I kind of closed the polls...that and I didn't know about the poll option for my bio.

I would like to thank those who voted (Both of you) in helping to write this story.


	25. Calm before the Storm

Me: This is going to be another serious chapter, but I promise you that this is the last of the serious chapters for now.

Larxene: Thank the goodness that is Kingdom Hearts this is the last mushy one.

Axel: She's a major mush basher if you haven't noticed already.

Me: Yes Axel we've noticed…but we love her anyway.

Axel: (mutters: some of us do at least)

Me: Oh my friend asked me another question that does bare clarification.

The Question: What are the romantic parings in this fic?

The Answer: The obvious ones are Sora & Kairi, Riku & Fuu, Roxas & Namine, Leon & Rinoa, Cloud & Tifa (Quick side note, I am not opposed to the Cloud & Aerith paring…but I am more partial to the Cloti). Yuffie keeps attempting to start a Yuffie & Vincent but it's not happening here…not completely sold on those either. Cid & Shera (That will be touched on later in this chapter) and one I think could happen…Yuffie & Zexion.

Hope that answers the question of who's with whom…which reminds me…

**WARNING!!:** this chapter would be rated PG-13 if it were in theaters…mostly for the implication of...you know.

* * *

The fleet of Gummy ships roared into space.

Sora's gummy ship along with the King's and an additional Kingdom Model Gummy ship were attached to the bottom of the Highwind, as it would take at least a day to get to the World that Never Was with the fleet in tow.

The idea of spending a whole day on board a bunch of smaller cramped gummy ships for a whole day did not set well with everyone but fortunately Cid predicted this and attached six short range transporter gummies to the bottom of the Highwind on the front and back so they could allow transport between them.

Everyone was taking full advantage of this, but the mood amidst the main party involved was rather somber.

Fuu had been released from her hospital room and was standing on the bridge of the Highwind as she watched space fly past her. She then heard footsteps behind her, but she didn't even have to look, she could feel who it was in her heart.

"Hey." She said as Riku walked up beside her.

"Hey there." He said as he kissed her on the cheek, she didn't even blush this time…everyone knew it…why hide it?

"Warm." She said as Riku blushed this time. She had said his lips were warm.

"T-thanks."

"Nervous?"

"More than you know."

Fuu then furrowed her brow.

"Home?" For once Riku didn't understand her.

"Huh?"

"After? Home?" she replied…now he got it.

"Oh…I don't know what we'll do after this…I guess I'll go back to the Destiny Islands, and you will go back to Twilight Town." He replied as the reality sank in that they may not get to stay together.

"Not home." Fuu said as she reminded Riku that she had disowned Twilight Town along with Seifer and his gang.

"Oh right…I guess you could come home with me…but wait what will my adopted parents think…they already are going to rip into me for sneaking off on this quest, not to even mention the fact that I was gone a whole year." Riku explained as he realized that there was a lot to figure out.

"Survive." Fuu said with a chuckle.

"Well…if you're there with me." Riku said as she smiled at him, then a light bulb went off in her head.

"ZACK!!" she said as Riku realized that there was a plan.

"Hey you're right…if I could convince Zack to move to the Destiny Islands with us, maybe you can live with him...that is if I can trust him with you." Riku said as she smirked.

"Safe." She said as he smirked back.

"Yeah…besides if he tries anything with you…"

"Dead meat." she said with a villainous grin as the two laughed, then leaned in for another kiss.

* * *

Sora and Kairi were walking hand in hand down a corridor when they started hearing a thumping noise that did not sound like it was machinery. They came closer to a door with Cid's spear leaning against the wall; they looked at each other confused, as the thumping stopped.

After a while Sora knocked on the door.

"Oh (Naughty word)!!" Cid's voice came from inside as a distinct female voice was heard giggling.

"Beat it Cloud…it's not yer's and Tifa's turn yet!!" Cid yelled through the bulkhead.

"What are you talking about?" Sora asked though the door…there was a pause…a long pause. Finally the door cracked open and Cid peaked through it…he paused once again. Finally…

"Aren't you two a little young?" he asked as the two looked at each other confused.

"Oh (Naughty word)…Shera put a shirt on!!" Cid yelled and closed the door back only earning more confused looks from the very confused Sora and Kairi.

After a few minutes the door opened and Cid and Shera just stood there innocently.

Sora and Kairi both cracked confused eyebrows.

Cid thought long and hard on how to get out of the slightly embarrassing situation…then he decided…_"oh why not be evil."_

"Say why don't you two go find Cloud and Tifa and tell them that it's their turn." Cid said with a smirk as Shera elbowed him in the gut with a furious look on her face.

"Their turn for what?" Kairi asked as Cid resisted the urge to wet himself from laughing.

"Oh they'll know." Cid said as Shera just shrugged _"If you can't beat the… join them."_

"Okay…" Sora said confused and the two turned with a shrug as they left to go find Cloud and Tifa.

After they were out of ear shot Cid and Shera lost it.

"S-s-s-Shera…" Cid said as he started to recover.

"Y-y-yes s-s-s-sir?" she asked.

"Wanna get something for the celebration afterwards?" Cid asked as he pulled a digital camera from his pocket and smiled sinisterly. Shera smiled just as evilly and they ran off to see if they could snap a photo of Cloud and Tifa's face when Sora and Kairi delivered his message…they succeeded.

* * *

Zexion was doing his best to relax, it was going to be a huge battle, and he wanted to conserve his energy. To that end he decided to sit back and read a book. However a bouncy young ninja had other plans.

"What'cha reading?" she asked as he looked around praying it wasn't him she was talking to, but alas…

"Some book called Final Fantasy seven…" He was about to elaborate when she moved closer.

"Sound's boring." She replied. Oddly enough he agreed with her but he didn't say it.

"Aren't you usually bothering Vincent Valentine?" he asked curiously, she shrugged with a smile.

"Yeah but I just do that because the jerk won't even acknowledge my existence." Yuffie said as she sat back with her arms crossed.

"I know the feeling…except I'm not even supposed to exist." He replied as he finally put the book down.

"Yeah that's what I hear…but your nothing like those other guys…I mean the five that we're going to be fighting soon." Yuffie encouraged.

"Am I?" Zexion asked as he proceeded to explain to her his actions in Castle Oblivion, but she took it all in stride.

"Okay so you made some bad moves on your part, but I guess that's why you had your reunion." Yuffie said as Zexion paused.

Maybe she had a point, and that Sora had been right all along. Maybe Ienzo did give him a second chance, and he had just been denying himself that chance.

"Everyone makes bad choices, but everything worked out for the better right?" she asked giving him a smile to which he nodded.

"Yeah everything is working out for the better I suppose." He said as he smiled.

"Thanks…Uhh…what's your name?" Zexion asked

"Yuffie Kisaragi, the Grand Ninja of Radiant Garden." Yuffie declared proudly. "Now what's your name again?" she asked

"Zexion…number six, the Cloaked Schemer." Zexion replied as she tapped her forehead Axel style.

"I got it memorized." Zexion groaned inwardly, she had been hanging around Axel too long…way too long.

"So uh…Yuffie, um…" Zexion was going to see if she wanted to get something to eat, but he had never been so nervous in his entire existence…what he remembered of Ienzo was that he was the exact same way.

Yuffie then looked out the view port then immediately looked away; her face would turn green whenever she looked out the window. Zexion recognized the symptoms instantly for some reason.

"Motion sickness?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Here just focus on me for a moment, and it should clear right up." He said as they had an unofficial staring contest. He hadn't noticed her brown eyes before…then something flashed into his memory.

"You were Ienzo's girlfriend weren't you?" Zexion asked as Yuffie's eyes widened.

"How did you know?" Yuffie asked. "More importantly how do you know Ienzo?" Yuffie asked.

"Ienzo was my other…take the name Zexion, remove the X, rearrange the letters and you get Ienzo." He said as she looked at him closer for a moment, and then moved his long blue bangs out of his face and to the sides, then her eyes widened.

"Whoa, I thought you looked a lot like Ienzy and even had the same mannerisms too…but I never once thought that you were his nobody." She said as she quickly pulled him into a hug…then slowly released him.

"And the others say that Ienzo is dead…" "Yeah…murdered by Xaldin." Zexion said as they both lowered their heads.

"Well…at least something of him survives." She said as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"I have his memories too, and his memories of you are the most vivid of them all…especially when he caught you looking through his underwear." He said as she blushed.

"You think that we…might have a chance?" She asked, "I hope so…I really do." He said as she returned to staring at him to fight off the motion sickness.

* * *

Later Zack was on the bridge listening to Riku and Fuu's suggestion on how to stay together when the whole mess was over.

"I don't know if you would be willing to move from Midgar to the Destiny Islands so…" Riku explained as Zack held his hand up.

"In case you didn't notice Midgar is practically rubble, and frankly the thoughts of a nice tropical beach house is not bad at all…especially if you're involved." Zack said as Riku smiled and Terra's spirit appeared next to him.

"_Do I get a say in this?" _he asked.

"Sure…you're his uncle and my dad after all." Riku said having grown more comfortable with the reality of his dad being a legendary Keyblade master.

"_I like the idea, I really wanted Zack to stay on the islands but he had to make his own path." _Terra said.

"Well, I knew he would be fine…besides Sora's mom is one heck of a fighter too." Zack said as Terra and Riku nodded.

"Anyway I know that the house that Aqua used to live in is still up for sale…perhaps we should try to buy it when we get back." Riku said as Zack considered the offer.

"Ok it's a deal…" "Hold on there's one catch…" "And that is?" "Fuu, and possibly Seifer, Rai, and Vivi get's to move in with you." Riku said as Zack thought for a moment.

"It's not Fuu I'm concerned about…it's the other three." Zack replied.

"Vivi? Harmless." Fuu said with a shrug.

"Ok so what about the other two?" Zack asked with his arms crossed.

"Dealt with." Fuu said with a smirk.

"Ah, I see." Zack said, apparently the gene required to understand Fuu's one to two word language is prominent in Riku's bloodlines.

"_Then I suppose we're covered…though I would suggest that you at least run this by Seifer, Rai, and Vivi first." _Terra suggested as Riku and Zack nodded and later they, plus the aforementioned Disciplinary Committee, were meeting in a conference room on board the Highwind…well more of a dining hall than a conference room.

"So let me get this straight…" Seifer said "…you want us…to come move in with Mr. Fair Hair here."

"HEY!" Zack argued as he straightened his hair.

"Watch it Seifer, I beat you once I can beat you again." Riku challenged, "We made this offer out of the goodness of our hearts and you have the gall to insult us?"

Seifer shaped up after that one.

"You have a point…but…really the only thing I'm concerned about is how your friends will think…I mean for some reason that Roxas guy really hates my guts…and I haven't even met the guy before now." Seifer said.

Riku snorted with a laugh as he recalled the countless times that Roxas was defeated by the digital Seifer until after he started to remember Sora…and the fact that the real Seifer had no clue…it made since to Riku alone.

"Look if you don't want to come…then you don't have to." Zack said as Fuu made a pleading gesture.

"Hmm…The Destiny Islands Disciplinary Committee…" Seifer said out loud.

"It's got a nice ring to it ya' know?" Rai said as Vivi nodded.

"Ok…I think I could go with that." Seifer said as he looked at Zack.

"So what would be the 'house rules?" Seifer asked making air quotes.

"Simple…you go to bed at the right time, no loud music, and you don't wake me up unless it's an emergency…oh and no girls in the house except Fuu." Zack said as Seifer shrugged.

"Is that it?" he asked as if expecting more.

"One more thing though it doesn't apply to the three of you, it applies to Fuu and Riku." Zack said as the two looked at him confused.

"At eleven…Riku leaves…and I don't want to catch you sneaking in through the window in the middle of the night Riku…I was trained to detect stealth." Zack said as Riku smirked.

"No problem…" "Good." "…I lived in darkness for a whole year, so I know how to avoid you." Riku said as Fuu blushed and Zack's eye twitched.

* * *

**That night…**

Paine couldn't sleep, she kept thinking about the battle to come, so she crawled out of her cot, and walked onto the bridge, thinking to be alone...she was wrong.

As she entered she saw the silhouette of the red cloaked Auron in the swirling darkness of space.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked.

"Not a wink…you?" she asked. He shook his head.

"Yuna tells me that you were her guardian when she went on her pilgrimage to stop Sin, and that during the battle she lost two of her friends…a guy named Tidus, and another guy named Wakka." She asked as he remained silent.

Finally thinking that he was never going to answer, she slowly turned…

"They're not dead…despite what she told you." He said.

"They're not? Then where are they?" she asked.

"The same place where Sora and Kairi came from." He responded.

"The Destiny Isles?" she asked confused. He paused for a moment before continuing.

"Tidus was hit with an unknown form of magic by the evil summoner Yu Yevon, the true form of Sin, and he was transformed into his five year old self, with only his memories from that time. After we defeated Sin and got him out of there we…as in the Kingdom Knights, Vincent Valentine, the King, and myself, took he and Wakka to Master Yin Sid who said that he could not reverse the spell without causing irreparable damage to him, but he could cast another spell similar, that would reduce the age of another person without damaging their memories."

"…and Wakka volunteered to stay with Tidus." Paine deduced as Auron nodded in acknowledgement.

"WHAT?! TIDUS AND WAKKA ARE FROM ANOTHER WORLD?!" Auron spun around to see Sora standing behind him with a can of string cheese in his hand.

"SORA!! You weren't supposed to hear that!" Auron said quickly then noticed the can of cheese.

"…and why do you have cheese in your hand?" he asked as the loud thumping of running footsteps could be heard outside the bridge. Sora didn't have time to answer as he handed the can to Paine who looked at it strangely as Sora bolted out the other door.

A few seconds later Larxene came running out onto the bridge…with cheese in her hair, and arranged on her face so she had a goatee. She was as mad as a hornet.

"WHO DID THIS?!" she yelled as she then saw Paine with the can of cheese in her hands, the woman paled (as much as could be noticed) as the Savage Nymph proceeded to chase her down the halls.

In the security center Axel, Demyx, Xigbar, Luxord, and Roxas were watching on the monitor as Larxene chased a framed Paine around the ship, and laughing their fool heads off.

"Five munny says that Sora will get busted." Roxas said as he put said munny in Luxord's infamous betting bowl.

"Five on busted Sora for Roxas…" Luxord verified and turned to the others.

"I'll make that bet…ten on busted Sora." Axel said as he tossed ten munny in and Luxord verified

"I dunno dude…when number 12 gets this mad, she hardly listens to reason so I'm betting on an injured Paine…no pun intended and I bet five." Xigbar replied and Luxord verified.

"I'm betting that Paine get's one of Larxene's infamous Acupuncture by Kunai treatments…so put me down for five." Demyx said as he put five in.

Then Luxord put in another five to make it an even thirty, and scribbled his wager in and returned his gaze to the monitor.

Larxene had Paine cornered but before she could unleash a particularly deadly attack the two turned to an off screen figure and acted like they were talking to it.

"Sound! Where's the sound!?" Axel asked as he looked for a volume control.

"There isn't any, the cameras are visual only." Demyx said as Axel looked back frustrated.

"…who are they talking to?" Luxord asked as Larxene suddenly started looking around the room, then spotted the camera, and volts could be seen going up her antennae like bangs as she snarled at the camera.

"Uh oh." Roxas said as the five nobodies quickly bolted back towards their rooms, leaving the reward money on the table, and a figure black portaled in shortly after they left.

The figure picked up the munny in the bowl and shoved it in his pocket.

"They never learn do they?" Marluxia smirked as he black portaled back to his room.

* * *

**The next morning…**

Everyone awoke to the sounds of alarms and flashing red lights and Cid's voice could be heard on the intercom.

"ALL RIGHT BOYS AND GIRLS THIS IS IT!! IT'S TIME TO KICK SOME DARKNESS (Butt)" he yelled from the bridge as everyone scrambled to their stations or to their respective ships.

Sora looked out the forward view port of his team's gummy ship and saw the massive fleet of white box shaped gummy ships guarding a larger white gummy ship shaped like the nobody symbol.

"That's their flagship, _The Absent Leader_" Roxas said as Auron, Zack, Goofy, Donald, and the King appeared on board the gummy ship in a blue sparkling flash of light.

"We can expect Saix to be in command…Xemnas handpicked him to be in charge of the Organization fleet." Roxas said as everyone took their seats.

Sora straightened up and walked up to the pilot controls.

"Namine, put me on fleet wide speaker." He asked as Namine smiled, flipped a few switches and handed Sora a second head set, she then flipped a few more switches and then nodded to the Keyblade master.

Sora cleared his throat and began…

"Listen everyone! The other worlds will be looking to us for hope. And what will they see? Frightened kids on a broken down gummy ship? No. No, they will see free people! And freedom! And what the enemy will see is the flash of our guns. They will hear the ring of our blades, and they will know what we can do! By the sweat of our brows, and the strength of our backs…and the courage and the light of our hearts! Gentlemen…and ladies! Hoist the colors!!"

All across the fleet large silver flags were unfurled that revealed the logo of Kingdom Hearts. (Me: look behind the words Kingdom Hearts in the game's official logo and you'll see what I mean)

Sora handed the headset back to Namine, and sat down.

"Nice speech Sora." Riku said.

"Thanks, I worked on it all night." He said as he looked out the view port at the massive fleet.

"This is it…" he said quietly.

* * *

**End Chapter 25.**

Me: Just a side note…that speech Sora gave was indeed a modified version of Elizabeth Swann's speech before the battle of Calypso's whirlpool in POTC: AWE.

Axel: MARL!! you owe me ten munny!!

Marluxia: No I don't that's in the story...and you lost that money fair and square.

Axel: NOW MARL!! before I fry your garden to a crisp.

Marluxia: You wouldn't.

Axel: Try me. (Marluxia reluctantly hands him ten munny)

Me: well thats one way to get munny from Marluxia.

Roxas: Are you kidding...all you gotta do is threaten his garden and he coughs up cash like a pez despencer.

Me: that it a handy tid-bit of info there Roxas. (Xemnas Runs me over)

Xemnas: Readers review and do not flame or you will be banished to Castle Oblivion. (Runs for his life)

Me: (From floor...once again) I am really getting tired of that...ow.


	26. CHARGE!

Me: Let us waste no time…going straight into the chapter. Small disclaimer, some of the scenes described are from FF7 – Dirge of Cerberus.

* * *

From the Highwind, Cid looked out at the fleet of nobody and Heartless Gummy ships, and looked at them with an excited grin as he flipped on the speakers to the soldiers in the Highwind's hanger bay.

"Listen up, cause I'm just going to say this once!!" Cid yelled into the comm. "If any one of you get killed by those punks I'll drag you back from the underworld and kill ya again!! You really wanna tick off those S.O.B.s then why not try stayin alive!! That's what this war is all about! If you live everyone behind you lives if you die they die…YOU GOT THAT?! Now go kick some HEARTLESS ASS!!"

Cid yelled as every soldier in the bay cheered. Yuffie and Vincent were with them and Yuffie cheered along with them as Cid then switched to the comms. on the gummy ships.

"GET SET!!" he yelled to the pilots and Namine was ready for action even putting on a pair of Rude's sunglasses for the effect.

"GO!!" Cid yelled

At that six Kingdom Model Gummy ships detached and streaked off towards the battle as the other larger gummy ships accelerated.

"HOLD ON!!" Namine yelled as they started firing at the smaller heartless and nobody gummies in their path.

On board the _"Absent Leader" _Saix was surprised as he saw the large fleet of gummy ships heading right towards their own.

"Their ships are of no consequence." He said as he turned to the cowering Pete.

"YOU…get that crystal to the surface." Saix yelled as Pete nodded and ran off with a massive blue crystal in his arms.

Saix turned and started putting information into the computer and then looked up as a massive beam of energy shot out from the bow of his ship and destroyed one of the Good guy Gummies that was perilously close to the Highwind.

"_Contact with gummy ship Bay Nine lost…damage to the Highwind minimal"_ Tron's voice rang out from the computer system on the Highwind.

"Damn…they're gonna pay for that one!" Cid cursed as he turned the Highwind hard to the left and towards the massive enemy gummy.

Namine's skills as a pilot really came out, easily out maneuvering or utterly destroying the pursuing enemy gummy ships as she headed towards the _Absent Leader_.

The Gummy ship hugged the surface of the massive gummy ship as she flew close to the hull. (Known in the star wars community as Trench Run Syndrome)

She then spotted what she needed…an access tunnel on the side, and she veered the gummy ship into the hole. She followed the path of the tunnels for a few seconds before Roxas spotted something.

"NAMINE LOOK!!" Roxas pointed at a purple and red clothed figure with a large blue crystal heading towards a white and black gummy ship.

"IT'S PETE…GRAB HIM!!" Sora shouted as Namine flipped on the transport beam and flew over Pete and the Crystal, beaming them aboard in the process.

The surprised Pete looked around and then saw Auron and Riku holding their weapons to him.

"Oh thank goodness it's you guys, I would rather work for you than those nobody creeps." Pete said as he fell on the floor and begged them to let him help.

"Tell us the weakness to this ship." Riku said as Pete nodded.

"The reactor that powers the weapon is its weakest point, keep following the tunnels and you will eventually reach it." Pete said as Auron wiped off the condensation from the crystal revealing a man who looked similar to Saix except without the scar and the blue hair.

"It's Saix's other!!" Auron exclaimed as the gummy ship was rocked by a blast.

"HANG ON!!" Namine yelled as she veered the gummy ship through another tunnel and came across a massive blue orb in the center of a large chamber. Sora recognized it immediately.

"It's the reactor…destroy it and the whole ship will blow." Sora said as Namine nodded and charged the weapons to their highest, then unleashed a massive blast towards the sphere but the blast was blocked by a large rectangular shield around the core.

"What the? How can we get past that?!" Zexion yelled.

At that very moment, the Highwind pulled alongside the _Absent Leader_ with another gummy ship on the other side and unleashed a devastating broadside attack on the nobody gummy ship.

On the bridge of the Highwind, Cid was taunting the enemy vessel, as Yin Sid and Merlin opened a white portal. Back on Sora's gummy ship, Saix's other vanished in another white portal only to reappear on the Highwind and Yen Sid quickly cast a spell on the crystal which turned white and clear.

On the bridge of the _Absent Leader_ Saix could sense something was wrong, he turned to open a black portal but found that his powers were gone.

"WHAT…how is this POSSIBLE?!"

Back in the core, the shield finally went down around the core and Cid's voice rang through the speakers.

"YER ALL CLEAR KID NOW LET'S BLOW THIS THING!!" He yelled as Namine nodded and charged another blast, this time the blast blew a hole clear through the core and it started to explode.

"LETS GET OUT OF HERE!!" she yelled as the gummy ship tore off out the barrel of the massive energy gun.

On the bridge Saix realized that he would not survive as all around him the bridge began to explode from the massive blasts of energy flying through the ship.

He collapsed to his knees with a look of fear and shock as the bridge finally exploded with the rest of the _Absent Leader_ not far behind.

Back on the Highwind, Cid cheered as Tron repeated over and over _"Enemy flagship destroyed, enemy forces dispersing."_

The crystal on deck glowed a bright white as Yen Sid and Merlin both knew that Saix's spirit had failed to return to his other…the Luna Diviner was gone for good.

The fleet of Nobody and Heartless gummies started to flee, only to be caught and destroyed by the other gummy ships, as on every gummy ship in the Army of Light, the crews celebrated their first of three completed objectives…the next was to get to the Castle that Never Was.

Namine turned hard as the gummy ship streaked off towards the World that Never Was with the Highwind not far behind.

"YOU GUYS GO ON AHEAD, WE'LL BE RIGHT BEHIND YOU!!" Cid yelled as Namine nodded and the others breathed a small sigh of relief.

* * *

**End Chapter 26.**

Me: Oh I just love a good battle scene.

Saix: Wait…you mean I'm dead?

Me: …and gone.

Saix: (Cries and runs to Xemnas)

Xemnas: There, there, Saix.

Everyone: (Arched eyebrow)

Me: Ok... (Axel runs me over)

Axel: No Flame reviews…because I'll only get stronger. Got it Memorized? (Runs off)

Me: (From Floor…once more) Et Tu Axel?

Axel: (From doorway) Yep me too.

Me: (Still from floor) Why me?


	27. Vengence

Me: I love doing this…on with chapter 27

* * *

Three Kingdom Gummies screamed through the skies of the World that Never Was with the large gummy ship Highwind close behind.

Namine flipped on her headset comm.

"Reno, Tseng, standby to beam everyone down to the surface." Namine said as the other two confirmed their instructions and Reno and Tseng's two gummy ships flew low into the city and a blue beam shot out from underneath both ships.

Where the beams hit, warriors of light appeared.

"Let's get'em dudes!!" Xigbar said as he, Leon, Rinoa, Barrett, and Yuna started firing their respective weapons at the approaching Heartless and Nobodies. Donald, Aerith, and Rikku, took up a support role as Goofy, Cloud, Paine, Luxord, Marluxia, and Tifa took defense.

Suddenly three Morning Star heartless barreled towards the heroes in a spinning fury, only to be taken out by the gunfire of dozens of soldiers led by Vincent and Yuffie as they air boarded down to the ground.

"NARLY DUDES!!" Xigbar shouted as Vincent turned Cerberus on the attackers.

"Vincent." Cloud said as he turned to the gunman.

"Think it's time for some Chaos?" Cloud said with a smirk as Vincent smiled sinisterly. Shortly after words his eyes started to glow a bright red burst of magic blew around him and when it dispersed he had changed into a large, winged monstrosity. His gun had also changed into a much larger and more powerful weapon.

"So…I guess I have no choice." Vince said with a distorted voice.

"…It's time…to save the universe." He said as he held up his gun and flew up into the air and he fired at the army of darkness. Yuffie, who was still on the hover board, fired a grapple hook towards Vincent and together they flew towards the castle.

* * *

Meanwhile, The gummy ships landed on a platform on the castle and Sora and his friends plus Zack, Axel, Larxene, Demyx, Rufus, the Turks, King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy disembarked, then the gummy ships flew off to return to the battle in the air.

"TURKS!!" Rufus shouted as the four plus Axel and Larxene, out of shear habit, stood at attention.

"Remember our mission is to locate and liberate the others of the Organization. Leave the members themselves to the heroes." Rufus said as the five plus Demyx nodded.

The two groups split off as Zexion lead Sora and the gang towards a stair case.

"The others are probably on either the fourth of fifth floors." Zexion said as he examined the schematics.

"The fifth I can get…it's the dungeon, but the fourth?" Larxene asked confused.

"The fourth are where the crystal stasis chambers are located…I'm assuming that's how they are being held because of the way Saix's other was incased within a crystal." Zexion explained.

"Uh I think that the chambers are the least of our worries." Sora said as everyone drew their weapons at Maleficent who stood before them.

"You pathetic fools…you just cannot admit defeat can you?" the witch taunted. Then she smirked at the battle ready warriors but before she could say anything, a gun went off, knocking Maleficent's staff out of her hand.

The heroes turned to see a flying red monstrosity holding a gun, and Yuffie on a hover board, holding onto a cable tied to the monsters leg as she sort of collapsed onto the ground from the motion sickness.

"VINCENT VALENTINE?!" Maleficent exclaimed as a look of absolute fear swept across her face.

"Yes…Maleficent…It is I…only now I am empowered by the dark magic you tried to kill me with…I…am the spirit…of Chaos." Vincent said as he began to glow a bright purple and dark magic swirled around him as he aimed his gun at the witch and fired a single large blast of magic, which blew a hole right through her and the dark magic poured through the wound as her life force drained away with her magic.

"No…this…cannot, be…" Maleficent said as she melted as Vincent landed softly and slowly morphed back into his normal self.

Aqua and Terra's spirits appeared at that time and turned to their old friend.

"_Vince…"_ Aqua said as he turned away.

"I never wanted you to know Aqua…I…" Vincent said as her spirit approached.

"Psst…Terra…is Vincent my dad?" Kairi whispered to the ethereal knight who shook his head.

"_No but they did get close over our journey however." _He whispered back.

"_Vince…you should have known that I don't care what you're like on the outside because I always knew who you were on the inside…and that's what matters most to me." _Aqua said as Vincent smiled.

"Still need some help?" Vincent asked as Kairi quickly ran over and pulled the gunman into the group.

"The more the merrier." Kairi said as she smiled and Vincent who smiled back…it was the start of a beautiful friendship.

"Zex…" Yuffie said as said nobody helped her up, "if I ever volunteer for an air drop again…be sure to kill me where I stand."

"I'll remember that." Zexion said with a playful smirk as the group began dividing up and the two specters vanished.

"Ok now…who is going with whom?" Axel asked.

"Yuffie, Zexion, you two go with Rufus's group, the rest of us probably should stick together." Sora said as the two nodded and fell in…the two groups then headed into the castle together.

All the Keyblade wielders had decided to stick together, so that meant that Sora's group consisted of, Himself, Kairi, Riku, Fuu, Roxas, Mickey, Auron, Zack, and Vincent.

Rufus's group consisted of Himself, Tseng, Reno, Rude, Elena, Zexion, Axel, Demyx, Larxene, and Yuffie.

Since they both had landed on the sixth floor, they stayed together until Rufus's group had to leave for the chambers.

As they approached the doors to the Crystal stasis chambers the entire group stood ready to fight when necessary. Not if…when.

Axel and Reno kicked the doors open but quickly regretted doing so for one reason…swinging doors.

As the two rubbed their reddened noses, Larxene shook her head and smirked as she slammed through the doors that again smacked the two red heads in the nose.

Once they were inside they found three large crystals, one was purple, the other was green, and the other was a whitish blue, like ice.

"That's them alright; we better get them to Merlin and Yin Sid so that they can cast their spells on them." Rufus said as Tseng pulled three tracking beacons from his jacket pocket and tossed one each to Rude and Elena.

The three instantly planted the trackers but as they turned to leave they found that all but their nobody companions had become incased in a magical shield barrier.

"Well, look what I caught in my web." A voice said as Zexion turned redder than Axel's hair.

"XALDIN!!" he yelled as the Whirlwind Lancer descended from the ceiling with Vexen and Lexaeus alongside him.

"Hello again Zexion…my, don't you look mad." Xaldin taunted as Zexion glared at him.

"You…killed Ienzo…WHY?!" Zexion declared as the trapped Turks and Yuffie looked stunned.

"H-he killed Ienzo?! My Ienzy?!" Yuffie asked with a broken heart.

"Why yes I did…but the reason I did was not because I was ordered to." Xaldin sneered delightfully as the four good nobodies glared at him angrily.

"It's because I always hated you Zexion…YOU were Superior's favorite, and he never showed any sign of favoritism towards us." He growled as Zexion looked at him surprised.

"You mean you murdered Ienzo in cold blood just because you were JEALOUS?!" Zexion said as Rufus quickly pressed a button on his watch that activated the tracking beacons.

"Yes I did Zexion." Xaldin said as Axel turned to the Cloaked Schemer.

"You want to take him?" Axel asked as he and the others were just itching to run the three through.

Zexion didn't answer as he whipped open his lexicon and a flurry of boulders flew out towards the trio who jumped out of the way.

Demyx attempted to drench Larxene again but was quickly frozen by Vexen. "DEMYX!!" Rufus shouted. The Melodious Nocturne wasn't dead, just frozen.

Larxene took it personally and unleashed a devastating flurry of attacks alongside Axel against Lexaeus and Vexen.

She was able to pin Lexaeus to the wall, and she glared at him sinisterly.

"You know what happens when rock gets struck by lightning?" she asked as a sudden beam of light pulled the orange crystal away, and Lexaeus could feel his power vanish.

"IT BREAKS!!" she yelled as she blasted him with the strongest bolt of Lightning she had ever unleashed. The Silent Hero fell silent for good as he faded away.

Meanwhile Axel and Vexen were at a stalemate.

"Face it Axel…I can't defeat you, and you can't defeat me…" Vexen said as he hurled another block of ice at the Pyro.

"Well then I guess you haven't seen my latest MOVES!!" Axel shouted and his hair became actual flames as he hurled his chakrams towards the Chilly Academic who suddenly in a burst of light felt his power vanish.

The chakrams cut through him and the academic staggered as his shield shattered and Axel returned to his normal form as Larxene ran up next to the pyro.

The Academic looked to the pedestal where the ice crystal should have been but was gone. Vexen slowly turned to ice and melted away into darkness, never to return.

Zexion furiously launched lances and boulders at Xaldin who would either dodge the boulders or catch the lances and hurl them back at the Cloaked Schemer.

"I'm going to make sure you join your other in death Zexion!!" Xaldin taunted as Zexion continued to block, dodge, or absorb his attacks.

Finally Xaldin grabbed Zexion by the neck and held him in the air as all six of his lances hovered in mid-air behind Zexion.

"Now…you die Zexion." Xaldin said with a laugh as all six of the lances flew towards him but passed right through him and stabbed Xaldin in the chest.

Xaldin staggered for a moment and saw as his other's crystal had vanished and felt his powers vanish as well. He then looked and saw Zexion standing in front of the empty pedestal, looking away from the dying nobody.

"You should have learned by now Xaldin…Never mess with the master of Illusion." Zexion said as he looked away and Xaldin screamed in anger as he faded into the darkness. The Whirlwind Lancer was dead at last, and Ienzo had finally been avenged.

The shield around the non-nobodies vanished and Yuffie ran up and gave Zexion a big hug.

"You had me worried…I thought that he had actually killed you." Yuffie said as a mellow Zexion looked at her with a tear in his eye.

"I just wish that Ienzo didn't have to die for all this to happen." Zexion said as the others gathered around.

"Well…like I said…some of him survives…and actually you're a lot cuter then Ienzy ever was Zexy." Yuffie encouraged as Zexion smiled.

"ZEXY?!" the other nobodies shouted in giddy disbelief.

"Hey don't mock my girlfriend." Zexion argued as he gave Yuffie the kiss of a lifetime.

"Sweet mother…I think Zexion's in love." Axel shouted as Rufus nodded to Tseng and the entire group vanished in a beam of light back up to the Highwind.

* * *

**End Chapter 27**

Me: Let me explain something here, Maleficent was destroyed by the very darkness she had used to try and kill Vincent with when he shot her while in Chaos form. This will be explained in more detail in the prequel fic I will write when this is over.

Vincent: Good because I was getting concerned.

Yuffie: What the…Vince when did you get here?

Cid: Since I got here…I gave him a lift…hey Star Tours!! You mind if we watch?!

Me: The master airship builder is always welcome…you too Vince.

Cid: Good cause I brought some people.

Tifa: Who?

Rufus: Are we late?

Reno: We brought Popcorn.

Zexion: Ooh Gimmy!!"

Rude: …….

Elena: I agree Rude, Zexion is a popcorn addict.

Zexion: HEY!

Tseng: Pipe down both of you.

Me: Pipe down all of yo- EEK!! (Rude runs me over)

Rude: … … … … … … … … …!! !! !! !! (Runs off)

Reno: I couldn't have said the "submit a flame review and die" speech better myself Rude.

Axel: Wow…run over by Rude, how…rude!! (Everyone groans…including me because I'm in agony)

Me: (From floor…yet again) What did I do to deserve this?


	28. Reunion

Me: Now that I have been pulled up off the floor for the umpteenth time, I shall continue where we left off.

* * *

Sora and his group descended six floors until they finally reached a familiar pair of doors in the center of the room.

"This is it…the Room of Dreams…" Sora said they came to a stop.

"_Ven is beyond this door…I can feel it." _Terra said through Riku.

Sora approached the door, but before he could Riku yanked him back as the dark armored warrior nearly stabbed him as he charged from an unknown point.

"You again?!" Riku growled as everyone took up battle poses.

"I said we would meet again Riku…and as you can see…I kept my word." The warrior said maliciously.

"Who are you?" Riku snarled.

"REVEAL!!" Fuu shouted at the warrior.

"Well this is a surprise…I half expected you to be dead, girl." The warrior said as he looked at Fuu and peaked Riku's anger.

Riku lunged at the warrior who blocked the blow.

"But to answer your question…I am the guardian of Darkness, the newest member of Organization XIII, I am…" The warrior knocked Riku away and turned to face them. He slowly removed his helmet revealing a teenaged face with long white hair.

"I am…Xiruk." the warrior said as everyone was stunned. He was almost exactly like Riku except he had Sephiroth hair.

"W-what?" Sora asked.

"YOU'RE HIS NOBODY!!" Roxas shouted as Xiruk nodded with a sinister smirk.

"Yes…I am…how you ask, well back when dear Riku gave into the darkness of his heart and was possessed by Ansem…I came into being." Xiruk smirked "But like you dear Roxas, I had no memories and I could use the Keyblade for some mysterious reason. Then I met Ansem and observed what happened in Castle Oblivion."

Xiruk looked at his other evilly.

"But your decision to accept both light and dark was foolish…you are noticeably weaker with the light Riku." Xiruk taunted.

"That's where your wrong Xiruk…I am stronger with the light, I just had to find it, and Fuu showed me where it was." Riku responded as he tapped his chest, earning a disgusted look from the nobody.

"I have grown tired of you Riku…you choose love and friendship over power and control…I cannot imagine being without power or control." Xiruk said with a scowl.

"And I can't imagine being without my friends…or my family." Riku said as he looked at his comrades with a smile.

"Enough of this." Xiruk lunged forward and Riku just stood there.

But before Xiruk attacked a bright light enveloped Riku and threw Xiruk against the wall.

As the Light faded a Riku appeared in a white and gold version of dark form except the heartless symbol was replaced by a shining gold Kingdom Hearts symbol. Light Form.

"No…this cannot be!!" Xiruk said as Riku stretched out his palm and a brief flash of light appeared and Xiruk began to fade into darkness.

"I-I'm fading…no no this cannot be happening, I was supposed to guard the darkness not become part of it." Xiruk said as he begged Riku to save him.

"PLEASE DON'T LET ME DIE!!" Xiruk said as Riku grabbed him by the hand and both started to glow a bright red and Xiruk joined back with Riku.

After a moment of silence, Riku's light form vanished and he turned to face his friends.

"It's over…Xiruk and I are whole once again." Riku said as Fuu smiled at him, walked over, and gave him a kiss on the lips.

"That's my cousin for you." Zack said as he gave the teenager thumbs up.

Riku nodded and then turned to Sora.

"Shall we disturb the dead?" Riku asked as Sora summoned his Keyblade and unlocked the doors to the Room and the group headed in.

Once again they encountered a long empty hallway, but this one had two murals on both walls depicting the Kingdom Knights final battle with Lord Xehanort in a wide barren field with Keyblades sticking in the ground.

"_Sunset Horizons…It's been so long since I've seen that place."_ Aqua said through Kairi as she recognized the place in the mural.

They opened the doors and found the floor pattern was stained glass yet the walls were black with white chain decals leading up to the roof, giving the impression that the room was being dangled over a great dark chasm.

The image on the stained glass was that of Kingdom Hearts with Terra, Aqua, and Ven's Keyblades crossed together in the center.

Sitting on a throne near the back of the room was a set of empty armor.

"Gosh…I hope Ven recognizes us." Mickey said as the armor started to glow white.

"_I promised to return…yet I failed to keep my promise" _a voice said as the specters of Terra and Aqua appeared. A few seconds later an older looking Roxas appeared near the throne. The spirit looked like he was drunk and delirious.

"_Ven…it's us…you're not dreaming."_ Aqua said.

"_My promise has been broken…how can I atone for my sin?" _Ven asked to no one in particular as Terra realized that their job was going to be more difficult than he imagined.

"_He's gone mad with grief over not fulfilling his promise to return to the Islands…we have got to show him who we are."_ Terra said as Aqua approached the deranged specter.

"_Ven…it's me …don't you recognize us?" _Aqua asked as Ven turned to look at her, then looked at her as if he knew her.

"_I know you…your that girl I knew…Aq…ua…Aqua." _Ven said as he grew more alert and brighter.

"_And you…your one of my fellow knights…Terra." _He said as he then turned to Mickey.

"_The apprentice…" _Then to Vincent, _"the gunman…" _Then to Auron, _"the guardian…" _Then he turned and looked confused when he saw Sora.

"_I know that face…" _Ven said as he looked at Sora then he saw the crown necklace, and he began to glow a bright white.

"_S-Sora?"_ Ven asked as the Keyblade master nodded and Ven completely snapped out of his grief induced haze.

"_Sora…My son…I have longed to see your face for so long…and now I have that chance…but I wonder what brings you to this place of darkness and of nothingness?" _Ven asked as Sora smiled.

"We were looking…for you." Sora said as Ven's armor began to glow bright and Ven sat down within the armor.

"_You…also come to destroy the evil that plagues these worlds…I know this…and now I shall be with you until the very end, and I shall make up for every second I was away from you and your…mother…Lulu…" _Ven said as he remembered her.

"_H-how is your mother Sora?" _Ven asked.

"She's fine and still waiting for you…she never gave up hope that you would return one day…and as long as you're with me…you still will." Sora said as the armor glowed a bright light and appeared on Sora.

"_Now…we shall fight together once…and for always." _Ven said to Sora as Riku and Kairi's armor appeared on them instantly.

Sora held out his Keyblade, it had become like Terra's only blue and white. The Kingdom of the Sky Keyblade.

"NOW WE ARE ONE!!" the three Kingdom Knights said in unison as they crossed their Keyblades with a blinding flash, and the memories that were blocked flooded back into their minds.

"Now let's go take the battle to Xehanort and end this once and for all!!" Sora said as he started to glow a bright white.

And the entire group nodded and turned towards the door as they ran out and began to climb the dizzying amount of stairs to the Alter of Naught where Xehanort and his Heartless and Nobody counterparts were undoubtedly waiting.

* * *

**End Chapter 28.**

Me: The end is near!!

Everyone: (Gasp…screams "We're all gonna die!! It's OMEGA WEAPON!!")

Me: I MEANT THE END OF THE STORY MORONS!!

Everyone: OH!!

Me: You guys have been playing too much of Final Fantasy VII: Dirge of Cerberus.

Vincent: I don't have time for games

Cid: He's usually trying to escape the little ninja brat's ranting.

Yuffie: HEY!

Elena: Sir…what exactly am I looking at?

Rufus: I thought you were reading this in your off hours.

Elena: With all due respect sir…whatever gave you that impression?

Rufus: I dunno…because Tseng was reading it?

Me: ANYWAY!! I just…(Tseng runs me over)

Tseng: If you readers fl- (I shove him off)

Me: HA!! Body armor… (Tseng screams like a girl, runs, and pins Elena to her chair in a very unflattering position)

Axel: Whoa ho, Turks gone wild!!

Elena: SHUT…UP…AND GET HIM OFFA ME!!

Me: (Takes blackmail photos for all who write nice reviews.) Nah…I think we'll just leave him that way…Oh kudos to sunflowerwielder for the armor suggestion.

Tseng: (Sob)


	29. Questions Answered & The Battle Begins

Me: Hello all I'm back. I know it seemed like a long time but truth be told I uh…forgot about this (Cheesy Grin). That and I got distracted by Pirates of the Caribbean online. But I'm back and without further adieu…CHAPTER 29!!

Everyone: WOOHOO!!

Me: DAHHHHHH (Falls over) Where did you guys come from?!

Larxene: Nowhere…we've been hiding in a tunnel that Lexaeus built underneath your house.

Demyx: Oh by the way I fixed a leaky pipe down there…free of charge mind you.

Me: Oh…thanks. (Starts chapter)

* * *

As our heroes charged up the spiraling staircase towards the Alter of Naught, slaying lesser nobodies and heartless as they ascended, Terra, Ven, and Aqua's spirits were visible yet still transparent as their friends and family charged up the staircase.

Meanwhile Xehanort, Ansem, and Xemnas stared out in relative disbelief as their Heartless/Nobody army slowly but steadily shrank by the weapons of the Army of Light.

"I don't believe it…how can they be winning?" Ansem asked his father.

"Don't you think if I knew that I would have dealt with it by now!?" Xehanort yelled at the cowering Ansem.

As our heroes passed through "Proof of Existence" Sora realized something.

"We can't kill Xemnas and Ansem until Xehanort is defeated!" He yelled as Roxas looked at him confused.

"Why not?" Roxas replied.

"Because if one of them dies they will simply reunite with Xehanort and make him all the more powerful." Ven yelled as he ran/floated next to Sora.

"I'll hold off Ansem." The King said with Keyblade in hand.

"And I'll help." Zack declared.

"Me too." Fuu added.

"I can handle Xemnas." Roxas said.

"Now hang on a moment I wanted to take on Ansem" Riku said as they entered "Ruin and Creation's passage."

"No you, Sora, and Kairi, need to face Xehanort and defeat him first before dealing with the other two." Auron replied as Riku nodded.

"Besides I shall aid Roxas in dealing with Xemnas." Auron said as Vincent Valentine shot a Sniper nobody with Cerberus and quickly reloaded.

"And I shall assist." Vincent said with narrowed eyes.

"_Be safe Vincent." _Aqua said as they reached the final staircase to the Alter of Naught…Where Sora's second adventure had ended with the first death of Xemnas.

The group reached the top to find the very three they were looking for and instinctively summoned/drew their weapons.

"Congratulations heroes on making it this far…I must say that you are full of surprises." Xehanort said tauntingly as Xemnas and Ansem summoned their own weapons. Xemnas his Arial Blades, and Ansem summoned the false Keyblade that Riku had used to unlock Maleficent's heart.

Xehanort then noticed the three Kingdom Knights of old behind their respective kin.

"I see you three are still enjoying the…'Ghost spell' I cast on you before you supposedly wiped my memories." Xehanort said with an evil snicker as everyone looked at the former Kingdom Knights.

"Wait you mean you guys aren't dead?!" Kairi asked surprised.

"_No we're not…"_ Terra said as he narrowed his eyes at the dark lord.

"So when you didn't return…" Vincent said.

"_Xehanort used his magic to send us into an ethereal form and bound us to our armor making it where we couldn't use it or our Keyblades…but we were still able to wipe his memories before it took full effect." _Aqua said as everyone locked eyes on the smirking dark lord.

"_Wait you said that we supposedly wiped your memories…You mean you were acting all that time?!" _Ven said outraged.

"Yes…I was acting as I slowly built Ansem the Wise's trust…then conveniently suggested that we consider researching the heart. He was opposed to it, which made me figure that he had been informed of my past, and knew to avoid it. So I knew I had to do things a little more…'quietly." Xehanort said with a grin.

"That's where dearly departed Ansem the Wise's apprentices came in, namely Braig, Dilan, Even, Aeleus, and of course, Ienzo…or as you know them, Xigbar, Xaldin, Vexen, Lexaeus, and Zexion." The dark lord said as our heroes turned red with disgust at Xehanort's actions.

"Of course after a while the little mouse King came to see Ansem the Wise, to inquire about the growing darkness. I had to pretend I didn't recognize him and I am surprised that you didn't suspect anything." Xehanort said as King Mickey narrowed his eyes.

"I did suspect something Xehanort, but I was foolish and assumed that when Sora destroyed your heartless that he had destroyed you as well…Welp it seems I was wrong." The king said as he tightened his grip on his Keyblade.

"I wonder mouse…how long did it take for you to realize that I was still alive." Xehanort said as he arched an eyebrow curiously.

"After I learned about Xemnas, and learned how to distinguish the Heartless from the Nobody…then when Riku was in the basement of Castle Oblivion I spotted the heartless Ansem lurking in a corner of a room…Later shortly before Xemnas's defeat, I encountered the real Ansem, where he told me about his theory of Reunion, when the heart becomes separated from the darkness and returns to its original host, leaving the heartless and nobody free on their own. Then if either one is destroyed they return to where they originated…the heart that spawned them." Mickey said as Xehanort nodded knowingly, still with a sinister smirk on his face.

"But I never knew what he meant…then it occurred to me a while after I returned to the castle. He meant that we could destroy Xemnas and Ansem the Heartless as many times as we could, but they would always return because you were still alive." Mickey continued.

"So then when reports of the former members of Organization XIII being spotted in various worlds started appearing, I sent a letter to Sora, Riku, and Kairi, to see what they could find…Hoping that they wouldn't find you." The King finished as the three villains before them were smiling sinisterly.

"Bravo…I can see how you were made King." Xehanort said sarcastically as he gave a short golf clap.

"Now that all questions have been answered…are you going to just turn around and leave or must we become uncivilized and fight?" Xehanort said as he knew very well what the answer of our heroes would be.

The response was our heroes quickly breaking off into three groups, with Sora, Riku, and Kairi, with their ethereal parents having returned to the armor, squaring off with Xehanort, King Mickey, Zack, and Fuu, squaring off with Ansem, and Roxas, Auron, and Vincent squaring off with Xemnas…and subsequently charging at their respective targets.

As the three groups grew close to throwing the first blows in the three battles of Light vs. Dark, Xehanort opened up a black portal and leapt through leaving Sora, Riku, and Kairi without their target.

"What now?!" Kairi asked as two battles waged between them.

"He must intend for us to defeat his Ansem and Xemnas first…then he will be too powerful for us." Riku said.

Suddenly a faint blue light appeared in the sky as the clouds parted.

The three looked up and went wide eyed as they saw what it was…it was a large heart shaped moon…it was Kingdom Hearts itself.

Sora, Riku, and Kairi, stared in awe along with their ethereal parents as a beam of pure white light enveloped them.

All across the battlefield the Heartless and Nobodies (Save for the former Organization XIII nobodies, Xemnas, and Ansem) stopped and vanished as the entire army of light looked in awe at the beam of pure light at the top of the castle.

As they watched Tifa walked up next to Cloud.

"I guess…it's all up to them now." She said silently.

Back on the Alter of Darkness, the light dissipated revealing three fully armored Kingdom Knights.

"What the…" Sora said as he looked at his armored self.

"Ok…we're armored outside of our elements…how did that happen?" Riku asked curiously.

"_It's Kingdom Heart's doing…in times of great need, even when the associated elements are absent, Kingdom Hearts can activate the armor so that the Kingdom Knights can do the duty that they have been tasked with." _Aqua said proudly as she and the other two knights became visible.

"Then where did Xehanort go?" Sora asked.

"_The same place where we fought our final battle against Xehanort…" _Ven replied.

"_The same place where we were bound to our armor..." _Terra added.

"_And the same place where the Keyblades themselves were forged…" _Aqua finished.

"_Sunset Horizons"_ the three said in unison as a bright heart shaped portal opened up behind the three specters and our three heroes swallowed hard.

"_Don't worry…we will be with you."_ Ven said as the three faded into the armor.

Riku looked towards Fuu as she, Zack, and King Mickey battled Ansem, and felt a rush of strength as she glanced at him for what seemed like hours but in reality was mere seconds.

The three looked straight forward took a deep breath, summoned their powerful Keyblades, and charged into the portal together.

* * *

**End Chapter 29**

Me: This is going to be good…I certainly don't know about ya'll but this is going to be Titanic!!

Axel: You're making a luxury cruise liner of the 20th century sink again?

Me: (Whacks Axel upside the head) No...I knew I shouldn't have said it that way.

Zexion: Well that sure explains a lot. Such as the question of how did Aqua, Terra, and Ven, die…well there's your answer…they're not dead…only ethereal.

Yuffie: S double T…you better finish this story and then start on that prequel you mentioned in chapter 24.

Me: That is my plan for the summer Yuffie.

Larxene: (Picking an object unknown to the readers) Hey what's this?

Me: Something I'm considering on adding to the prequel fic, or a short mini sequel.

Larxene: Oh good…I haven't seen it yet but I already like it.

Me: Larxene shush…I don't want any spoilers…yet…now who wants to do the "Flame and Die" spiel? (Flurry of people start to charge at me but I raise Ultima-Weapon and they stop dead in their tracks) Need I remind you all that if you run me over that…I WILL KILL YOU?! (Everyone sits down and I feel a tap on my shoulder) Whoa…ok…you can do it.

Auron: Readers review…and should you flame…you shall be sacrificed to Sin as an Aeon.

Me: (bug-eyed) whoa…


	30. Sunset Horizons Part 1

Me: A quick note: Please be sure to read chapter 29 if you haven't already. Chap. 29 was originally an A/N and I replaced the content with what's currently there.

* * *

In Sunset Horizons…Xehanort sat perched on a large throne shaped rock, grinning happily at what he believed would be the Kingdom Knights downfall.

"First they will defeat my two minions, and when they reunite with me, they will make me powerful enough to crush those accursed Kingdom Knights once and for all." He said to himself with great pride not even noticing the bright heart shaped portal that closed behind him just as he had started his evil rant.

"_Is that so?"_ a familiar voice said from behind him causing him to leap forward a few feet and turn to look disbelievingly at what was behind him.

"No…it…cannot be…it's…impossible!" Xehanort said in disbelief.

"_You once again underestimate the power of Kingdom Hearts Xehanort." _Ven said through Sora.

"It doesn't matter…once your comrades back in the World that Never Was destroy my 'Offspring' I will still become more powerful then you." Xehanort snarled.

"_That's where you're wrong…" _Aqua/Kairi replied.

"Care to explain?" Xehanort demanded.

"_Simple…we warned our friends to only distract you two minions, not to kill them…that's why they are only blocking making false attacks…"_ Riku/Terra said.

"…_that and Vincent Valentine is only using tranquilizer bullets instead of real ones in his gun."_ Sora/Ven added causing Xehanort to snarl.

"So you may have me beaten on that front…but you still cannot stop the darkness that is to come…and when it comes…I shall be the one sitting on the throne of Darkness with your heads as trophies mounted on my wall." Xehanort said with an evil cackle.

Xehanort then summoned a dark version of the Kingdom Keyblade in his right hand a mysterious black Keyblade with red teeth on the end in a strange round pattern around the end. (Me: in the Kingdom Hearts Final Mix+ trailer "Birth by sleep" takes a look at the dark warrior's Keyblade…that is the Keyblade that Xehanort just summoned)

Xehanort then paused and looked towards Kairi/Aqua with a sinister smile.

"I believe you recognize this Keyblade, girl…" Xehanort said as he held up the black and red Keyblade and Kairi/Aqua tensed up in preparation for an attack.

"_Why you SON OF A…" _But before she could move Sora/Ven restrained her.

"Ah…so you do recognize it." Xehanort said with an evil grin.

"Yes…you recognize it as the Keyblade that was wielded by my first guardian of darkness, the Keyblade that 'ended' the life of the one who you, the first 'Kingdom Knight of the Sea,' gave your heart to…only to have it broken." He sneered.

Now it was personal Aqua emerged from Kairi, her face flashing with pure anger.

"Yes…the Keyblade that slew…your beloved husband." He said with a smirk that caused the other two knights to appear as well with disbelieving looks on their face.

"_Aqua is this true?!" _Ven asked.

"_It's true…it is the very Keyblade the killed my husband and Kairi's father." _She replied as Ven and Terra glared back at the dark lord and then as quick as a flash the three returned to the armor.

"_Your time for treachery and deceit has reached its end…" _Kairi/Aqua said. (Me: Cue epic battle music)

"_**AND THE END IS NOW!!" **_the three Kingdom Knight's said in unison as they leapt forward in a single move only to find the ground beneath them shoot straight upwards and they landed on their feet.

Suddenly a massive cliff ledge shot straight up with Lord Xehanort smiling down at them as he arose into the air.

Riku/Terra quickly ran towards the rock wall and swung his Keyblade down towards the rising cliff and cut the mass of moving land in half causing a rain of rocks to come down on them but a powerful beam of light emanating from the three launched upwards destroying any rocks that would fall on them and any that were not destroyed by the beam, shattered as they hit a white shield around them.

Xehanort in the meantime had lost his balance and was lucky enough to call up a small pillar like section of earth for him to stand on.

After the rocks dissipated the trio turned to see Xehanort standing high upon the pillar.

Aqua/Kairi instantly fired a large horizontal blue shockwave towards the pillar which caused it to start to topple forward but Xehanort was quick and leapt up to strike as he brought his Keyblades down on Sora/Ven who masterfully blocked the attack and hurled the dark lord into the air.

But Xehanort, being a master Keyblade wielder, knew instantly what to do, he pointed himself head first towards where the three Kingdom Knight's stood and aimed the two Keyblades parallel to himself and suddenly lurched forward into a black streak of dark energy at rocket speeds towards the three Knights who all huddled together only to vanish in a blink of light.

Xehanort hit the ground and as fast as they had disappeared the three knights reappeared and Kairi/Aqua took the first few swings as she flew past him, followed by Sora/Ven who took a few swings as Xehanort was turning to block the previous attacks. Riku/Terra repeated the same pattern, but with every attack Xehanort parried every blow.

They repeated this for a few seconds before Xehanort vanished in a puff of smoke only to reappear a few meters away.

"You're going to have to do better than that to stop me." He jeered as he leapt off the cliff ledge and landed safely on the ground only to be met by two of the Kingdom Knights as they blinked down to meet him.

Sora/Ven however had leapt into the air to unleash a powerful limit break called "Star fall"

Ven aimed his Keyblade into the air as the familiar blue circle appeared around the edge of the Keyblade and a blue beam shot straight into the air and vanished into a cloud. Mere seconds later a hail of blue balls of fire began to fall from the sky and they all seemed to be aimed at Sora/Ven.

He began to absorb the stars much like he did with the Bahamut's mega-flair and then rocketed towards the ground forcing the evil Keyblade master to flee, but to no avail.

The blast knocked Xehanort to the ground, but he quickly jumped up and turned with a malicious snarl and a powerful swing of his Keyblades, only for the strike to be blocked by Kairi/Aqua.

"Ironic isn't it?" He grunted as the two pushed against each other's Keyblades.

"Ironic that the very weapon that 'ended' your father's life will soon end yours." He sneered only for the Kingdom Knight to be pulled to the ground by Sora/Ven and Xehanort's attack to completely miss the two, allowing Riku/Terra to deal a blow to the dark lord.

Xehanort howled in pain as he flew forwards a short distance from the blow and land hard on his back.

He slowly climbed up, noticeably injured from the attack, and turned to face the trio who stopped dead in their tracks as soon as he turned to face them.

"So…that's how it's going to be eh?" he grunted angrily. Then after a moment, as sinister smile crept upon his face.

"I think it's about time that you have something of a reunion with your parent's." Xehanort said with a smirk.

"_Finally."_ The three ethereal Kingdom Knights said within the minds of their decedents, confusing the latter.

"Join them where?" Sora asked as himself.

"Where else…" Xehanort said with an evil grin which quickly changed into a face of pure fury, **"IN THEIR ARMORED, ETHERIAL PRISON!!"** he yelled as he raised his hands into the air.

His hands began to glow a bright green and bolts of green electricity started crackling between his hands. He then thrust them forward causing a beam to head straight towards the Kingdom Knights…

* * *

**End Chapter 30**

Me: Ain't I a stinker for ending the chapter in a dramatic cliff hanger?

Everyone: **YES!!**

Larxene: You **CRUD**…I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THAT TO US?!

Kairi: And what do you mean about Aqua's husband being killed by that evil Keyblade?

Me: Now that I shall not answer on the grounds that it is an issue that will be dealt with in the prequel fic.

Kairi: the anticipation is going to kill me.

Me: Hey curiosity K.O.-ed the feline.

Everyone but me and Zexion: **HUH?!**

Zexion: Translated – Curiosity killed the cat.

Everyone: **OH!**

Me: Ok, uh…I know, Vincent would you do the honors?

Vincent: Certainly…Readers be warned…if you flame in your review…I shall become the spirit of chaos itself…and come after you.

Me: Need he say more?


	31. Sunset Horizons Part 2

Me: When we last left our heroes they were about to be hit by the same magic that caused their parents to become trapped in the ethereal realm, bound eternally to their armor, until the day comes that they may be freed from the lifelong imprisonment.

Axel: Oh get on with it.

Roxas: Yes get on with it.

Everyone: **YES GET ON WITH IT!!**

Me: Monty Python again?!

Axel: (pulling his hood over his head with his fellow Org.XIII members doing the same) Hey nobody expects the Spanish inquisition.

Everyone but the Org. members: (GROAN)

Org. members: (Snicker)

Me: I better start this thing before I get killed by either impatient readers…or from the rotten humor.

* * *

The beam streaked towards our heroes but just as the beam was half way to them it hit something that no one could see causing a bright light to appear and envelop everyone.

When it faded the Kingdom Knight armor was gone from around Sora, Riku, and Kairi, and their Keyblades had returned to their original form.

They then looked towards Xehanort and what they saw caused them to stand in awe of what stood before them. Xehanort on the other hand glared in absolute fear.

In between the kids and Xehanort stood three armored knights, and their Keyblades, it was Ven, Terra, and Aqua, but they were no longer ethereal…they were corporeal once again.

"**WHAT?!" **Xehanort said as he backed away in terror as the trio approached him and a radiant light swirled around them and in Sora, Riku, and Kairi, their hearts glowed brighter than the sun, with Kairi's being the brighter of the two boys. The Kingdom Knights eyes started to glow just as brightly and in the darkened sky above, Kingdom Hearts appeared.

"_Now you shall receive the judgment that has been forestalled for far too long."_ The Knights said in unison as Kingdom Hearts itself spoke directly to Xehanort through the Knights.

"Impossible…" Xehanort said in a mixture of defiance and terror, "…I-I am the lord of all darkness…y-you cannot destroy me."

"_Perhaps not as the Kingdom Knights…"_ they again said in unison _"…but as Kingdom Hearts."_

Then Xehanort stumbled backwards onto the ground and watched as a brilliant beam of white light came down upon him from Kingdom Hearts and he stared in horror as his body was slowly torn to pieces by the light.

He began to scream as it progressed and finally in a brilliant explosion of light, he vanished from existence, never to return.

The light faded away quickly leaving only our heroes standing where they were.

Aqua walked forward a few paces and looked down at where Xehanort had stood, and there on the ground was the two Keyblades he had used. She knelt down, picked up the black and red Keyblade, rammed it into the ground, and somberly placed her helmet on top of it.

"Be at peace my beloved…and know that the light you brought to my heart has never faded…even in the most darkest of times." Aqua said to her deceased husband as the other two knights removed their helmets in honor of Aqua's lost love.

Sora, Riku, and Kairi, also lowered their heads and Sora even held Kairi's hand.

Finally the three turned and looked towards their decedents with teary eyes and huge smiles on all their faces.

They finally ran towards each other into a full embrace.

"Oh…how we missed you." Ven said as with tears running down his face.

"I bet you can just imagine the look on mom's face when she sees what I bring home this time." Sora said with a teary laugh.

"I can imagine." Ven replied.

"Now I know why whenever I look at my lucky charm, that I feel like I'm safe and being watched over…it's because you were watching out for me weren't you?" Kairi said through the tears as Aqua laughed.

"I guess…" Riku said to Terra.

"Guess what?" Terra replied.

"…that you're going to make me eat carrots again aren't you?" Riku said as they both burst out laughing

Suddenly…

"OMIGOSH!!" Sora yelled as he pulled himself out of his father's arms.

"What?" Ven asked as the others turned to look at the startled boy.

"WE FORGOT ABOUT THE OTHERS IN THE CASTLE THAT NEVER WAS!!" Sora yelled as the others realized he was right.

"Then let's help them out…KINGDOM KNIGHTS ASSEMBLE!!" Ven yelled as the Kingdom armor appeared around the three.

Ven held out his Keyblade and Terra followed suit.

"Wait!!" Aqua yelled as she grabbed the dark Keyblade and her helmet from the ground.

"I'll re-plant it later." She said as she donned her helmet and held out her Keyblade (in a team huddle break like formation).

Sora, Riku, and Kairi walked up next to their parents and held their Keyblades out as well.

"Now for the first time…" Ven said as he looked at his friends and family.

"…we fight not just as a team…" Terra said.

"…we fight as a family." Aqua finished as they then broke the huddle and the familiar heart shaped portal of light appeared and the six ran through together.

* * *

**Meanwhile on the Alter of Naught**

The six against two battle between Xemnas and Ansem the Heartless, versus Roxas, Fuu, King Mickey, Auron, Zack, and Vincent Valentine had died down to just two versus two as Auron, Vincent, King Mickey, and Zack had been knocked away and it was just Roxas and Fuu against the two evil twins.

Xemnas and Ansem caused Roxas and Fuu to wind up facing their respective opponents back-to-back to each other.

"I have waited a long time for this girl…" Ansem said to Fujin as he gave a nod to Xemnas who gave a knowing nod in reply.

"…I have waited a long time to find the very thing that will drive Riku from the light for good…and now I have found it." Ansem said as he and Xemnas started charging two powerful limit breaks.

"Farewell ROXAS!!" Xemnas said as he and Ansem unleashed the blast and the others looked on in horror.

But as the blast faded they saw two tall armored figures standing in front of Roxas and Fuu and shielding them from the blasts.

The five on the floor looked stunned for a moment but quickly smirked as they saw the armored figures.

"At a boy Riku." Zack said from his place on the floor.

"Don't thank me…" Riku's voice said from next to him.

Zack and the others looked in their direction, where they saw not only Riku, but Sora and Kairi standing next to each other with a knowing smirk on their faces, and a third armored figure standing behind them.

"…Thank our parents." Riku finished as Xemnas and Ansem paled in horror.

Terra glared at Ansem while Ven glared at Xemnas. The heartless and the nobody both stood in absolute fear before the Kingdom Knights.

"How dare you try to harm the woman my son loves…now you shall be with your father in darkness." Terra said to a cowering Ansem

"Same goes for you to Xemnas." Ven said as he and Terra unleashed a devastating bolt of light out at the two evil figures who evaporated like water on a sheet of hot metal.

As the light faded everyone slowly climbed to their feet. From the staircase leading up to the "Alter of Naught" Cloud and the rest of the Restoration Committee arrived in time to see the six heroes standing triumphantly.

"U-Uncle T-Terra?!" Zack asked as he slowly walked over to his long lost uncle.

"Yes Zack…it's me…and I'm real." Terra said holding out his hand for the dark haired man to grasp.

Zack grabbed a hold of it and went wide eyed as he could actually feel the warmth and the grip of his uncle's hand.

"Ho—ly (Naughty Word)…y-y-your…alive." Zack said as Terra pulled him into a hug.

"They always were…" Riku said as he pulled a stunned Fuu out from between the two Knights.

"…and…it's a long story." Riku finished as the two smiled at each other.

"A very…long story." Aqua said as she then looked at Vincent Valentine.

"I told you I would come back." She said to the red robed gunman.

"I never doubted it." He said with a smile.

"So that's why you wouldn't pay any attention to me…you already had a girlfriend…" Yuffie said as Zexion looked at her with an amused look on his face.

"…You know if you would have just told me, then I would have left you alone but noooooooo, you had to keep ignoring me…" Yuffie continued.

"Uh…Yuffie?" Zexion interrupted.

"Huh?" she replied as she turned to look at him.

"Do you want to go back to Radiant Garden via black portal…or by airship?" Zexion asked playfully.

"I'll shut up now." Yuffie replied after a moment earning laughter from the others.

Then Aerith appeared among the crowd.

"H-hi Terra." She said with a nervous smile.

"Aerith…" Terra said as he walked over to the red haired beauty.

"I told you we would come back…you know me…when I make a promise…" Terra replied taking her hands in his.

"…You keep it." Aerith replied.

"Hey Mickey…what's the deal there?" Riku asked the King.

"Simple, Aerith traveled with us on our journey…she's a tough fighter despite her appearance." Mickey said as Riku turned back to see the two in a kiss and he quickly recoiled.

"Ugh…then why didn't she say anything…even when she had every chance to say something before now?" Riku asked.

"Welp…because he had explained everything about your memory wipe to her and she promised him never to say anything to you until master Yen Sid's spell was broken." Mickey replied as he smiled at his two former comrades.

"I gotta give you credit Sora…" Marluxia said as he approached, "…if it wasn't for you, we would probably have never defeated Xehanort…we Nobodies…owe you our very existence because of that." He was about to bow in respect but Aqua stopped him.

"Actually his helping you isn't quite over yet." Aqua said with a smile.

"How so milady?" Marluxia replied.

Aqua nodded to her fellow Knights who nodded back.

"There's still one thing left to do." Aqua said as the three brought their Keyblades together and a bright light appeared in the center of them. They slowly lifted their Keyblades and in the sky Kingdom Hearts once again appeared.

But this time a beam of brilliant light hit all the Nobodies in the chest, and on each beam, a heart slowly traveled down and into the heart of each of the Nobodies present.

As the lights faded the former nobodies looked at each other bewilderedly.

"Kingdom Hearts, has deemed you all worthy of what you desire most…a heart." Terra said with a smile.

The former nobodies looked at each other for a moment with smiles of realization on each of their faces only to be replaced by faces of confusion as a loud roar was heard, they all looked up to see the Highwind floating to the ground.

"What are ya'll wait'n fer, a written invitation? Lets load up and go HOME!!" Cid shouted from the cockpit as Namine flew around with her Gummy ship.

"Yes…" Sora said as he took his father's hand. "…let's all go…" and everyone said in unison…

"Home."

* * *

**End Chapter 31**

Me: If you think it's over you got another thing coming.

Sora: Wait you mean that there's more?!

Me: Yep…chapter 32.

Sora: Wow!

Me: Now this time our special guests shall say the infamous "Flame and Die" speech. (Ven, Terra, and Aqua, appear from the tunnel that Lexaeus built under my house)

Aqua: Readers far and near beware…

Ven: For if you flame in your review…

Terra: Kingdom Hearts itself shall make you meet the same fate as…

Terra, Ven, and Aqua: Xehanort.

Me: if that doesn't scare them…I dunno what will.


	32. The Final Reunion

Me: This is it folks…the last chapter…I hope you've enjoyed the story and I hope you like all the others I write as well. So now I give you Chapter 32.

* * *

Everyone piled onto the gummy ships and the Kingdom Knights opened a Kingdom Portal (the large heart shaped, light filled portal) large enough for the entire fleet to fly through, to hasten their journey back to Radiant Garden.

The landing gummy ships were greeted by the cheers of hundreds of people who had been anxiously awaiting their return.

As everyone disembarked the Highwind, now docked outside the castle, Namine and Kairi were walking next to Aqua.

"The other gummy ship captains are proclaiming you an ace pilot." Kairi said to her now heart possessing nobody.

"I'm no ace." Namine said with a shrug.

"Are you kidding…you fly far better than me." Sora said as he, Roxas, and Ven passed the trio by.

"Really?" Namine asked curiously.

"You bet." Roxas said in a near Sora-like manner, then blushing for saying it that way.

Namine just blushed slightly when Roxas looked at her.

"Kairi is it my imagination or are they starting to act more like us?" Sora asked the red-head.

"I guess the heart can do strange things to people." Kairi said as she took Sora's hand causing the boy to stop. They leaned in and they kissed for what seemed like minutes, unaware that they were being watched by their respective parents and former nobodies.

"What are the odds?" Ven asked.

"When they were toddlers, Sora was scared of her, now it pains them to be away from each other." Aqua said with a smile.

"Yeah…what are the odds of our two kids falling in love with each other?" he replied, with the same smile.

"Slim to none?" Terra said as he passed by with Aerith at his side a smirk on his face, with Riku, Fuu, and Zack right behind them, earning a mischievous smirk from Aqua and Ven.

Riku paused when he saw the spectacle of his two best friends lip-locked and a mischievous smile crept upon his face.

Sora and Kairi were still in full embrace when they suddenly heard kissy noises; they stopped and saw Riku, Fuu, and Zack making said noises.

"I told you…I don't get angry…I get even." Riku said with a smirk as Sora and Kairi blushed.

* * *

Later in the castle Cid, having excused himself from the party, was busy insuring that Tron made it back into the Castle mainframe.

"TRON ya in there?" Cid asked as the download bar vanished.

"Affirmative Cid Highwind, I am now operating at 98 Percent Capacity." Tron replied as the console started beeping and Tron then spoke up.

"This is strange." Tron said as a message popped up on the screen.

The message read: "Inter world Darkness levels at 14 Percent…Activating 'Victory' Program."

Suddenly out on the factory floor a massive digitizing ray activated and where it hit a large sleek gummy ship appeared.

"Well I'll be…It's my old ship!!" Cid said as the cigar dropped from his mouth and he then ran into the castle to find the heroes.

Everyone was talking about what they were going to do now that the war was over.

Axel, Larxene, and Demyx, decided to stay in Radiant Garden and become Turks like their others (Demyx being the exception considering Rufus isn't a Turk)

Luxord, was staying on as Rufus's accountant.

Xigbar was planning on heading off for a little vacation before finally returning to also become a Turk.

Seifer and his gang were busy packing up for the gummy ship ride to the Destiny Isles, Hayner, Pence, and Olette, were doing the same.

Cloud and Tifa were going to stay in Radiant Garden, along with Barrett, Marlene, and Vincent.

Yuna, Rikku, and Paine, were going to go to Destiny Isles, to be with Tidus and Wakka, Auron of course was going too. Yin Sid had also agreed to cast the same spell on YRP that he had on Wakka to make him young enough to remain friends with Tidus.

The King, Donald, and Goofy were going to return to Disney Castle, and the King was even going to re-open the steamboat line in Disney Castle and put Pete in charge of it. Pete was overjoyed at the news.

Marluxia was going to depart in search of his other.

There was one piece of sad news however, the others of Xaldin, Vexen, Lexaeus, and Saix, had been placed in their crystal stasis cells at a point on the brink of death. So they could never be released and live for more than thirty seconds at best.

Shera Highwind of course was going to stay with her husband.

Zexion decided to stay in Radiant Garden as Rufus's head scientist…that and so he could be with Yuffie.

Zack and Terra were going to find a house somewhere on the Destiny Islands. Riku and Fuu, along with Seifer's gang would live there too…Terra and Zack could handle them.

Aerith was going to move to the islands as well.

Aqua was going to buy back her old house, and Kairi and Namine were going to live there with her.

and Roxas was going to live with Sora and his parents.

Everyone was laughing and celebrating as Cid came barreling into the main room where everyone was.

"Hey you guys may want to see this."

Cid said as everyone ran for the computer room.

A moment later, just as Rufus entered the room with everyone else a hologram of Ansem the Wise appeared above the console.

"This message is encoded to the Kingdom Knights, Ven, Terra, and Aqua, …" the hologram said, "…My friends…I have attempted to perform my duty to the letter, but I failed…and if I am not walking amongst you now then that means I have paid the price for my failure…I kept your Gummy ship stored within the Data space of this computer…along with a couple of old friends…"

As Ansem's hologram said "friends," a beam from the digitizing ray hit the ground and two objects appeared. One was a small yellowish box with a number of scuff marks on it, and the other had a large white box shaped head, a smaller rectangular body, two short telescoping arms with a dark gray rectangular object between his hands.

"I hope you treat them well…They should remember you fondly…Be safe my friends…and should Rufus be present at the playing of this message, I want him to know…that I was always proud of him, no matter what happened between us…and I never stopped caring for him…end of line." The hologram instantly vanished.

Ven smiled at the two objects and knocked on top of them, causing them to start bouncing slightly. Then a pair of black treads, two arms and a head shaped like a pair of binoculars popped out of the yellow machine, and two small yellow square eyes appeared inside of a small black rectangle near the bottom of the white one's head.

"Whoa…what are those things?!" Sora asked.

"That Sora…is Wall-e and M-O (pronounced Moe)" Aqua replied as the robots looked curiously at her.

"Aq-ua!" the yellow robot said in a weird mechanical voice as the white one started scrubbing the floor with it's grey metal bar.

"Wall-e?" Riku asked.

"Waste Allocation Load Lifter – type E…" Terra replied "…or Wall-e for short…" he said as the little robot examined all the on lookers carefully...M-O kept on scrubbing, "…the little guy was with us for the bulk of our journey…he was quite helpful…and reliable." Terra finished.

"Same goes for M-O only M-O stands for Microbe Obliterator. I always wanted one but Uncle Terra would get one." Zack added as said robot looked up at them.

"Mo" the robot said in its unique voice and continued scrubbing.

Cid then emerged from the elevator.

"Well folks, the old Gummy ship is fully functional and awaiting you all." Cid said wiping his hands on a rag.

"I think it is time that we should be going home…" Sora said as the others nodded.

* * *

A few minutes later everyone that was going to the Destiny Isles had loaded what bags onto the old gummy ship and Sora, Riku, and Kairi, were saying their goodbyes to everyone.

"There's one thing that's bugging me Cid." Ven said as he and the gummy ship builder walked towards the boarding ramp that was typical of the older gummy ships.

"What's that?" Cid replied.

"Why didn't you recognize us when we appeared? I mean you were with us every step of the way on our adventure to stop Xehanort after all." Ven asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Easy…no one asked." Cid replied with a smirk as Ven stopped, rolled his eyes, and shook his head…_"Typical Cid."_ Ven thought as he boarded the gummy ship.

Zexion was the next in the long line.

"You and Yuffie will be sure to come and visit us right?" Sora asked.

"It's a promise." Zexion said a tear ran down his face.

"What's wrong?" Kairi asked.

"It's just…that if it wasn't for you guys…I would still be sulking around without a heart in Beast's Castle…you guys gave me my life…and I will never forget you, nor be able to repay you." Zexion replied as he bowed in respect to the three, and handed Riku his Lexicon.

"Here…take this…I can always get another one." He said as Riku took it and nodded with a smile.

"Good luck you guys…and Godspeed." Zexion said as he walked over to rejoin his girlfriend.

"Kairi…" Vincent said as he knelt down to her level.

"I got to know your mother over the course of our journey, you were always at the front of her mind…I started to care for you as much as she did…" Vincent said as Kairi smiled.

"Thanks to both you and your mother…I finally feel at peace." Vince said as he pulled Kairi into a hug.

"Thank you…Kairi." He said as he let go and Kairi walked back over to her friends with a large smile on her face.

"Gosh Sora…" Goofy said as he and Donald approached with saddened faces. "…I guess this means no more adventures."

"Oh come on guys…" Sora said with his trademark optimistic smile, "…I'll be sure to come for a visit…and you guys need to come to the Destiny Isles sometime."

"Yeah but that depends on if the King allows it." Donald replied.

"Well even if he doesn't…we'll always have the memories of our adventures forever in our hearts." Sora replied as he pulled his friends into a hug. They finally separated and Sora turned to board the gummy ship.

As they started to board Ven bounded out of the hatch in the back of the gummy ship.

"Wait where's Wall-e and M-O?!" he asked as almost on cue a robotic yell was heard as everyone turned to see Wall-e attempting to flee from Stitch with M-O scrubbing along behind them.

"Stitch leave Wall-e alone and lets go!" Sora yelled as the robots raced up the ramp, which closed shortly after words.

Everyone cheered and waved as the old gummy ship roared to life with Namine at the controls.

"Hang on everyone." Namine yelled as the ship shot out of the hanger and then vanished in a flash of light.

* * *

**On the Destiny Isles.**

A tall woman with black hair, wearing a black shirt and blue jeans, stood on the front lawn of a quant island home staring up at the star filled sky.

"Sora…where have you gone…" she asked to no one in particular, after a while she turned to go back into the house.

"No where." A voice from behind her replied, she whirled around to see Sora and a blond haired kid that bore a slight resemblance to Sora, standing outside the gate to the fence.

Lulu charged forward and pulled Sora into a big hug.

"Oh where have you been I was so worried." She said as she then narrowed her eyes and looked at him angrily.

"You are in big trouble for running off on me like that mister." She said as the blond boy interrupted.

"Oh I think you'll forgive him when you see what he brought you." He said.

"And you are?" she asked.

"I'm Roxas…I'm sure Sora's told you about me." Roxas replied.

"Wait your Roxas?" Lulu replied with obvious surprise.

"Yep…Sora's nobody…well I was his nobody before I got a heart." Roxas replied with a smile.

"Wait…what did you bring me Sora?" Lulu asked as Sora simply smiled and pointed behind her.

She slowly turned around and saw…

"Ven?? Is it really you?" Lulu asked.

"Yes Lu…it's me…in the flesh." He replied with a smile before Lulu's eyes filled with tears and she pulled him into a big hug as she cried with joy.

Sora and Roxas gave each other a high five.

The stars seemed a lot brighter than usual from that night on.

* * *

**End Chapter 32.**

Me: Well that's all folks…end of story.

All: (Cheers and Applause)

Me: I would like to thank Square Enix and Disney for creating this series of games, the creators of the Final Fantasy Series for the characters and plot ideas/devices. All the Disney films both past, present, and future that were put into the game, Organization XIII, the Heroes of Final Fantasy & Kingdom Hearts, Sephiroth for being so supportive of my endeavors, and last but certainly not least…all of our reviewers, for being a bunch of cool guy's and girls and leaving positive reviews.

Axel: and I think we all know why they left only positive reviews. (Snicker)

Me: Oh I forgot to mention, that Wall-E & M-O is going to be in the prequel fic…I just wanted to include him here...also don't flame me for the change in Wall-e's name...the E stands for earth, but for the sake of the fic I changed it.

Xaldin: So this is where you all have been hiding.

Me: (summons ultima-weapon and charges at Xaldin) DIE!!

Xaldin: YIEEEE!! NOT YOU AGAIN?!

Xemnas: Alright everyone…we better be going…we have a lot to do tomorrow.

Sora: Doing what?

Xemnas: uh…nothing. (cheesy grin)

Roxas: (Sneezes) K-I-N-G-D-O-M-H-E-A-R-T-S

Ven: We'll be watching you Xemnas.

Me: Ok…everyone that's a wrap…BYEEEEEEEE!!

Everyone:** BYEEEEEEEEE!!**


	33. Epilogue

Me: And you thought it was over.

* * *

Things had gone according to what everyone had hoped on the isles.

Yen Sid reversed the spell he had cast on the island, causing them to forget about Ven, Terra, and Aqua and everyone on the island held a huge celebration in honor of both them and their families. The great wizard also recast the spell on YRP and now they are 15 years old and the three of them plus Tidus and Wakka now live with Auron.

Terra, as a gift from the mayor, received a large house for himself, Zack, Riku, Fuu, and the new Destiny Island Disciplinary Committee to live in…but Terra made very sure that his and Zack's rooms were between Riku and Fuu's respective rooms.

The little robots Wall-E and M-O moved in with Terra to help keep the place clean, considering that none of the humans living there were exactly clean freaks. Wall-E and M-O are quite happy with their jobs…and Wall-e has also become good friends with Sora, Riku, Kairi, and their friends…even accompanying them to the island where they play occasionally.

Aerith had moved in next door to Terra, and the two were currently dating.

Aqua was fortunate enough that her old house had been left un-touched and un-sold, and was relieved when it was given to her for free by the people on the island.

Hayner and Pence, at Ven and Lulu's request, moved into Sora & Roxas's house while Olette moved in with Kairi and Namine.

All in all…everyone was incredibly happy with the way things had ended for them.

* * *

**On the Playground Island**

Riku and Fuu leaned against the sideways tree embraced in a deep kiss, as Sora, Roxas, and Namine came running over the bridge.

"Aww come on you two, now isn't the time to be doing that." Sora complained as the two teens broke the embrace and glared at Sora.

"Says who?" Namine asked as she took Roxas by the hand and they both looked out at the sunset together along with Riku and Fuu, leaving Sora feeling like the fifth wheel.

Then Wall-e poked his head up from behind the tree and looked hopefully at Sora.

"You're kidding?" Sora asked as Wall-E laughed and nodded as he ran…or rolled off.

Sora shook his head with a smile and was about to go off to find Kairi, when she came walking over the bridge herself.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Kairi asked as Sora nodded and took her hand and they both sat down on the tree.

After a while they heard a familiar squeaking noise…it was Wall-e as he came rolling across the bridge at high speed.

"So—RA!!" Wall-e yelled in his mechanical voice as everyone turned to look at the small robot who reached in a large panel on his front and pulled out a glass bottle with a rolled up piece of paper in it. On the paper was King Mickey's seal.

"Another message from the king?!" Sora asked as he opened the bottle and pulled out the message.

Everyone crowded around to read it as the sun finally set.

…Another adventure was just around the corner…

* * *

**End Story**

Me: Now it's over…for this adventure…

Now be on the look out for the prequel fic entitled...

Reunion: Birth By Sleep

Feel free to check my profile under the list of stories that I have written, at your leasure, to check for it.


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